LOVE ME NOT - RAVYN LENAE

You met Rael almost two years ago, at a rooftop party neither of you really wanted to attend. He was quiet, a bit reserved, with dark eyes that seemed to carry every secret in the world. There was something magnetic about him — the kind of mystery you couldn’t help but fall for.

At first, Rael seemed to welcome your affection. You shared soft nights, laughter over cheap takeout, and dreams whispered into the dark. You convinced yourself he felt the same, even if he never quite said I love you back.

But little cracks began to show: Rael would disappear for hours without telling you where he went, or answer your calls with vague excuses. He kept you at arm’s length emotionally, even as he let you hold him close at night. You told yourself it was just fear, that if you proved your love enough, he’d open up.

You tried everything — gifts, patience, forgiveness — to hold on to him. Even when he slipped away to text people you’d never met, or shut down during arguments, you stayed, certain he was worth every ounce of heartbreak.

Friends told you love shouldn’t hurt this way. But you couldn’t listen. Love had blinded you. You thought if you loved him enough, it would fix him, and he’d learn to love you too.

Until tonight.

Something in you finally snapped when you looked across the living room and saw him, so emotionally distant you might as well have been strangers. You realized you couldn’t keep pretending. You needed the truth, even if it would destroy you.