HIS FIRST LOVE VS ME

POV: SOPHIE NATHAN

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I always knew I was his second choice.

Nathan never said it out loud, but I saw it in the way his eyes drifted to the past, in the way he spoke her name in his sleep. Emily. The woman who left him six years ago, taking a piece of his heart with her.

But he chose me.

When we met, Nathan was still healing, though he never admitted it. I was the calm in his storm, the steady presence when everything else seemed uncertain. I fell in love with the man who laughed with me, held me close on rainy nights, and whispered sweet nothings in my ear.

I told myself that one day, my love would be enough to erase her shadow.

Until she came back.

It was a Thursday evening when Emily walked back into Nathan’s life.

I was setting the table for dinner when the doorbell rang. Nathan opened it, and there she was—drenched from the rain, her long brown hair clinging to her skin, eyes filled with the ghosts of yesterday.

"Hi, Nathan," she whispered, her voice shaky. "Can we talk?"

I froze.

Nathan stood still, his grip tightening around the doorframe. I could see the storm in his eyes, the memories crashing back like a tidal wave.

And in that moment, I knew—I had never truly won his heart. I had merely borrowed the parts she left behind.

Emily sat across from us in the living room, her fingers tracing the rim of her coffee cup. She looked beautiful, effortlessly so, and it made my heart ache.

"I never stopped loving you," she admitted, looking straight into Nathan’s eyes. "I was scared back then. I ran away, thinking it was for the best. But I regret it every single day."

My heart clenched.

Nathan exhaled slowly, his gaze unreadable. "Emily… a lot has changed."

"Has it?" she asked, tilting her head. "Or have you just convinced yourself it has?"

Silence filled the air.

I wanted to scream, to tell her she had no right to come back after all these years. That I had spent nights piecing together the man she broke. That I loved him too.

But I said nothing.

Because deep down, I wasn’t sure if I had ever truly had him in the first place.

The following days were torture.

Nathan was distant, his mind clearly elsewhere. He reassured me with words, but his actions told another story. He wasn’t sleeping well. He barely touched his food. And when he thought I wasn’t looking, I saw him staring at his phone, lost in thought.

I knew what he was thinking about. Who he was thinking about.

So I did what I never thought I would—I gave him a choice.

That night, as we lay in bed, I turned to him. "Nathan, do you still love her?"

He didn’t answer immediately. The silence felt like a knife twisting in my chest.

"I don’t know," he finally admitted, his voice barely a whisper.

I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. "Then go find out."

His eyes widened. "Sophie—"

"If you have to think about it," I interrupted, forcing a small smile, "then I already know the answer."

Pain flashed in his expression, but he didn’t argue.

Because he knew I was right.

Nathan packed a small bag that night. He said he needed time to clear his mind. I watched him leave, my heart breaking with every step he took.

I wanted him to stay, to fight for me the way I fought for him. But love isn’t something you beg for. It’s something that should be freely given.

And if I had to beg, then I never truly had it.

So I let him go.

Days turned into weeks.

I learned to live without Nathan’s presence, though the ache in my chest never fully faded. I focused on myself, on the life I had outside of him. It wasn’t easy, but it was necessary.

Then, one evening, he came back.

I opened the door to find him standing there, eyes weary, heart heavy.

"Sophie," he murmured, voice raw.

I swallowed hard. "Did you get your answer?"

He exhaled shakily. "Yes."

I held my breath. "And?"

He stepped closer, his gaze searching mine. "It was always you."

Tears welled in my eyes. "Are you sure?"

"More than I’ve ever been about anything."

He reached for my hand, gripping it tightly. "I thought I needed to close that chapter, to go back and see if I still loved her. But the truth is, I only needed to lose you to realize I never want to live in a world where you aren’t by my side."

A sob broke from my throat, but this time, it wasn’t from pain. It was relief.

Because for the first time, I wasn’t a second choice.

I was the choice.

And that was enough.

❤️THE END❤️

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