Zayne had just posted a picture on Instagram. He was standing next to a girl tall, beautiful, with curly brown hair and bright eyes. Her smile was warm, and they looked… close. Too close. The caption read:
"Study partner turned life counselor. MIT wouldn't be the same without you, rose."
Liana stared at the photo longer than she should have. She had just returned from her thesis defense at Harvard, her heart beating faster than usual—but not from stress. It was something else. Something she didn't expect.
Jealousy.
For the first time, she realized how much it hurt to imagine Zayne laughing, growing, and building memories with another girl. She tried to brush it off, but it clung to her heart like dust on glass.
She texted him that night:
"Who's the girl in your IG post?"
Zayne replied quickly, as if he'd been waiting for her message all day.
"That's rose. Just a friend. You have nothing to worry about, Liana. No one can ever replace you in my heart."
Her heart fluttered.
She typed back:
"Okay. Just asking. She's pretty."
He responded:
"You're beautiful."
Liana smiled quietly to herself, closing her laptop. The truth was, even oceans apart, even in different cities and universities, her feelings for Zayne never faded. They only deepened with time.
[Years passed...]
Liana completed her master's degree, graduating with top honors. She was now officially Dr. Liana, specializing in International Law. Her parents couldn't have been prouder. She had job offers waiting, a future ahead of her—but her heart? It still beat for a boy from tutorial class. A boy named Zayne.
Zayne also completed his master's. MIT shaped him into a brilliant software engineer. He'd just bought his first house in America—a beautiful townhouse with smart technology, a peaceful garden, and space for everything… except peace in his heart.
Stella, his dad's business partner friend, had moved in with him after getting a job in the same city. From the outside, they looked like a couple. But inside, it was different.
Zayne and Stella lived under one roof, but their hearts lived in different worlds. Zayne still dreamed of Liana. He still remembered her soft smile, her quiet strength, the way she looked at him like he was more than enough. Stella noticed it too—how distant he was, how often he stared at his phone screen, how his smile never quite reached his eyes.
And truthfully, Stella wasn't in love with Zayne either. Her heart had belonged to someone else for years. They were two people trying to build something where there was no fire just friendship and silence.
One evening, as Zayne sat on his porch watching the sunset, he picked up his phone and typed:
"Liana, I miss you. I know it's been years, but the truth is I've loved you since we were kids. I tried to hide it. I tried to be patient. But if I wait any longer, I think I'll explode."
He hesitated, fingers shaking.
Then…
Send.