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Out of Pity or Love

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Episode 3

The silence began little by little.

First, it was a shorter response.

Then, a touch that didn't come.

Next, a kiss forgotten on the way to work.

Until, without realizing it, Aurora began sleeping next to a man who seemed increasingly distant.

Levi no longer bothered to have dinner at home. Meetings became frequent, excuses, vague. And his phone, which was always left on the table or sofa, was now always in his pocket or face down. Always on silent.

Aurora tried not to see malice. She tried to believe in the tiredness. In the pressure of work. In the stress with the wedding suppliers. But deep down, something inside her knew. Something screamed, albeit silently.

It was as if her presence began to bother him. As if love had been swallowed by something invisible — and cruel.

It was on a Wednesday night that everything began to become clearer. Aurora arrived home early, intending to prepare a special dinner. She thought of creating a quiet night, just the two of them. His favorite food, red wine, soft music in the background. She wore the thin-strapped blue dress, the one he used to compliment with a hungry look. She put her hair up in a casual bun and lit the candles on the table. Everything like in the old days.

But he didn't show up.

The clock struck eight. Then nine. At ten, Aurora called. The call went to voicemail. She sent a message. No reply.

She waited sitting at the table, alone, looking at the cold dish and the wine that had not been opened. The candle was slowly consumed, like the last vestige of hope.

At eleven at night, Levi finally entered the door, with his eyes downcast and his steps hesitant.

"Aurora... I..." he began, but stopped when he saw the set table, the candle already extinguished, the food untouched.

She said nothing.

He sighed, dropping the keys and backpack on the sofa.

"I'm sorry. I had to go out. An... an unforeseen event."

"With Yasmin?"

The name came out low, but firm. It wasn't a question. It was a statement. She already knew. She didn't need him to confirm it.

Levi hesitated. He sat in the armchair, as if his body weighed more than it should.

"She's back... and she's sick, Aurora. Very sick."

She stared at him, without moving a muscle.

"And that justifies disappearing? Ignoring me? Coming home as if nothing was happening?"

"I'm not ignoring you. I just... don't know how to deal with this. She came to me crying." She said she's in the terminal phase. Cancer."She said she just wanted to have peace... And that she regrets everything. She just wants to say goodbye to the world in peace."

Aurora kept her voice calm, but her eyes were teary.

"And that's why you disappear? That's why you leave me alone waiting? That's why you don't touch me anymore?"

Levi lowered his head.

"She's dying, Aurora. I can't just turn my back. She... she was an important part of my life."

"And what am I? A footnote?"

"Of course not! But you need to understand. I don't love her anymore, I just feel sorry. Compassion. I would never trade you for her. I'm with you."

But no word he said found truth in her eyes.

Aurora watched him for a long moment. The man in front of her was no longer the same. The Levi who promised her the world was now a stranger who carried too much guilt to see what he was losing.

And that was just the beginning.

In the following days, Levi began to go out frequently. He said it was to accompany Yasmin to appointments, help her with exams, be present because she had no one.

Aurora, initially, tried to understand. She knew what it was like not to have anyone. She knew how much it hurt to be left aside. But what Levi was doing went beyond a gesture of compassion.

He started taking flowers to Yasmin — the same lavenders he used to give to Aurora.

He took foods that Aurora prepared, now cooked by him.

And, finally, he began to use the ideas that the two had planned together for their own wedding... with Yasmin.

Everything came to light when Aurora saw, by chance, Levi's cell phone unlocked on the sofa. She wasn't the type to snoop, she never was. But that night, something pulled her. Something that needed answers.

And there they were.

Messages of affection. Photos of wedding venues. Cake tastings. Decoration.

Everything. Absolutely everything that had been dreamed of with her... now shared with Yasmin.

Aurora's throat closed. She couldn't breathe. This was no longer compassion. It was betrayal.

It was perverse.

That night, she didn't cry. She didn't scream. She just lay down next to him, like someone sleeping with a stranger. Like someone saying goodbye in silence.

The next day was the last straw.

Levi was waiting for her in the living room, arms crossed.

"Yasmin is feeling very bad." She said she's afraid of dying full of bitterness. She... she wants to apologize to you. But for that, you need to... go there.

Aurora stared at him, perplexed.

"You want me to go to her?"

"Yes. She wants to apologize. But... she wants you to apologize too. For having offended her in the messages you sent when she came back."

Aurora felt the pressure in her chest.

"I never sent any messages, Levi. Never."

"Yasmin said it was you. And I believe her."

There, Aurora understood. He no longer saw her. He no longer heard her. He no longer recognized her.

"You want me to kneel before the woman who destroyed everything I had with you?"

Levi took a deep breath, as if giving one last chance:

"I'm just trying to give peace to someone who is dying. Be human, Aurora. That's all."

She looked at him, and for a moment, everything she once felt shattered into a thousand pieces.

"And who is going to give peace to me?"