The next day.
Kate woke up the same way she had the day before—with red, puffy eyes and a hollow ache in her chest that only seemed to deepen with time. Her head throbbed, her limbs were heavy, and her heart… her heart felt like it had forgotten how to beat without hurting.
She stared at the ceiling, motionless, as the morning sun spilled quietly through the blinds.
"Kaya niya pala talaga akong iwan mag-isa," she whispered.
She had told Frooze they needed space. She had told him they needed time apart to think.
But deep inside, she had been hoping—wishing—that he'd fight her on it. That he'd say no. That he'd choose to stay, just to prove he didn't want the distance.
But he didn't.
And now, her silence had been met with silence.
With tired hands, she reached for her phone from the nightstand, her screen still dim, quiet… empty.
No missed calls. No new messages. Nothing.
It was already 10:30 a.m.
She didn't even have the appetite to eat. She just wanted to stay under the blanket and forget the world outside existed. But she needed to take her medication—and that meant forcing something into her stomach, no matter how much she hated the idea.
"Noodles nalang siguro… meron naman ata."
Dragging herself out of bed, she shuffled to the kitchen. Her body moved like it was underwater, slow and exhausted. She opened the pantry and saw the familiar packet of instant noodles.
Just as she reached for it—
Knock knock knock.
She froze.
Her heart jumped, racing so fast she felt dizzy.
Could it be…?
Was it Frooze?
She practically sprinted to the door, heart hammering, breath catching in her throat. She stopped just inches away from the knob, took a deep breath to steady herself, and opened it.
But the hope in her chest shattered the moment she saw who was standing there.
Josh.
Of all people.
The boy who once gave her flowers on Valentine's Day just to say goodbye.
The boy who once said, "I think we're better off as friends," right after she poured everything she had into making them work.
Her tone was sharp. "Ano'ng ginagawa mo dito?"
The question shot from her lips before she could stop it. Cold. Laced with irritation. But beneath the surface, there was exhaustion. A deep ache she no longer had the energy to hide.
Josh looked awkward, nervous—like he already knew he wasn't welcome. He held a paper bag in his hands, a weak attempt at peace. Or maybe guilt.
He gave a faint, almost apologetic smile. "Can… I come in—"
"No, you can't."
Kate didn't even blink.
There was a beat of silence between them, thick with years of unspoken disappointment.
Josh shifted his weight uncomfortably. "I know I'm late," he said finally, voice quiet, cracking just slightly. "I should've come sooner. I just… I've wanted to talk to you for some time now. It took me this long kasi alam mo naman… I'm not financially stable—"
Kate scoffed under her breath, her brow twitching as her eyes narrowed.
Of course she remembered.
Too well.
The dinners she paid for.
The surprise dates that never came.
The gifts she gave that were never reciprocated.
The holidays where she was the one giving, carrying, planning… and waiting.
The moments she gave everything—and received silence or excuses in return.
And now, here he was.
Now?
"We have nothing else to talk about, Josh. We're through. Remember?" Her voice was flat, but her eyes sparked—tiny embers of anger she hadn't even known were still alive inside her.
He flinched, but tried again. "Kate, I just—"
"And bakit parang kasalanan ko pa na it took you time to come here?" she snapped. Her voice rose, a sharp edge breaking through. "Isusumbat mo pa talaga sa akin na nag-ipon ka para lang makapunta dito? Gusto mo ba palitan ko? Gusto mo bigyan kita ng allowance para lang mapanindigan mo 'yung closure na ngayon mo lang naisip?"
Josh's face crumbled.
"Kate—please, don't be like this. I didn't mean it like that."
"No? Then how did you mean it?" Her voice was trembling now, but not from fear. From anger. From grief. "You left. You let me carry the weight of that relationship alone, and now you're here telling me you needed time and money to fix what you broke?"
"I didn't know what to do," he muttered. "I wasn't ready to face you. I thought maybe if I got my life together, then maybe—"
"Then maybe what?" she cut him off. "I'd still be here? Still waiting? Still holding on?"
Josh opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
Kate stared at him, her arms crossed, her whole body screaming exhaustion.
"I'm not in the mood today," she said quietly, coldly. "If you came here to make peace, fine. It's made. If you came to get back together—don't even try. There's nothing left to fix. The damage is done."
Josh took a deep breath. "I didn't come to take anything back. I just… I still think about you, Kate. Even after everything. Even after the silence. Kahit ngayon lang kita makita, kahit sandali lang, okay na ako. I just… needed to see you."
Kate's eyes met his. And for a moment—just a fleeting second—her heart softened.
But only for a second.
"You know what's really sad, Josh?" she said, her voice low and breaking. "You're not even the reason I'm like this anymore. But you… you were the start of it."
He looked confused. Hurt.
"I gave you everything," she continued. "I planned dates. I paid. I showed up. I stayed. I did the loving for both of us. And you… you just watched me tire myself out. You watched me bend until I broke."
Her hands began to shake. "And now… there's this guy. Someone I really, really like. And I'm scared. Scared that if I let him in, if I give him what I gave you… it'll happen all over again. I'll be forgotten. Unchosen. Wasted."
Josh's shoulders dropped. His voice was barely a whisper. "I didn't mean to do that to you."
"But you did," she whispered back. "You were the first boy who taught me that love is exhausting when it's not returned. And now, even when someone tries to love me—I flinch. I hesitate. Because you taught me how it feels to be tired… and still be left behind."
Silence.
Josh looked down, guilt pressing down on him like a weight he couldn't carry anymore.
"I'm not asking for another chance," he murmured. "I just wanted to say sorry. You didn't deserve the version of me you got. You gave your best to someone who didn't know what to do with it."
Kate didn't reply. She was too tired to open old wounds she'd stitched shut with tears.
Josh took a small step back. "I hope you're okay. I hope… this one works out for you. He's lucky, whoever he is."
He gave her one last look—eyes full of sorrow, regret, and something she didn't have the space to hold anymore.
"Goodbye, Kate…again…I'm sorry for the damage that I have made."
And then he turned… and walked away.
Kate stood at the door, unmoving, for what felt like forever. Then slowly, she closed it—softly, gently—but the click of the lock felt like a thunderclap in her chest.
She leaned against the wood, her eyes fluttering shut.
Tired. Angry. Numb.
She didn't cry.
Not because it didn't hurt… but because the only person who could make her cry now…
Was Frooze.
She whispered into the stillness, her voice broken and barely audible:
"Please… don't waste me, too."
Then she turned, walked back into the kitchen, and boiled water for her noodles.
The world was still turning.
Her body was still moving.
But her heart…
It was still waiting.
And she hated that it still was.
---
Frooze hadn't meant to eavesdrop.
It started with something so ordinary—walking to his kitchen for a glass of water, glancing out his window like he always did.
But what he saw—
It stopped him in his tracks.
From his living room, just a few feet from Kate's front door, he had a clear view of her standing there. She looked... tired. Worn. Eyes heavy, her hair a little messy like she hadn't cared to brush it that morning. She was in her pambahay, but somehow, she still looked like the most fragile thing he'd ever seen. The most beautiful lady he had met.
She was talking to someone.
A guy.
Frooze narrowed his eyes.
The voice carried across the thin air between their units. That's when he heard the name.
Josh.
And suddenly… he couldn't move.
He stood frozen behind the glass, listening as the girl he wasn't sure he deserved poured out words meant for someone else—but that felt like knives meant for him.
"I gave you everything," she said. "I planned dates. I paid. I gave effort. I tried. You gave excuses…"
His stomach sank.
He wasn't Josh.
But he might as well have been.
"Now… there's this guy. Someone I really, really like. And I'm scared. Scared that if I give him what I gave you… it'll happen all over again. I'll be forgotten. Unchosen. Wasted."
Frooze staggered back like someone punched him in the gut.
He turned away from the window, clutching the edge of his table for balance. His heartbeat was thundering in his ears. It wasn't rage. It wasn't jealousy.
It was shame.
Crushing, choking shame.
He had never heard her speak like that before. Not even to him. Maybe she couldn't.
Maybe she was too afraid she'd push him away if she did.
But now he heard her.
And he couldn't un-hear it.
Something inside him snapped.
He dropped into the nearest chair, head in his hands, breath shallow.
He thought their situationship—whatever the hell it was—would be smooth sailing. No pressure. No labels. Just two people trying to figure it out together. He thought they were both okay riding the waves.
But clearly, she wasn't.
She was drowning in silence while he was busy pretending he could float through confusion.
And what did he do?
He let her climb into a half-built boat with him.
He let her stay.
And now, he realized… he was letting it sink. With her in it.
He was the weight pulling them both down.
She wanted something real. Someone sure. Someone ready. She just doesn't know it yet, or rather…she's denying it.
And Frooze? He couldn't even tell if he was moving on or just running in place. Claire's reappearance had shaken something in him—not because he still loved her, but because he realized he was still damaged by her. By what she did. By what he allowed.
He wasn't ready. Not fully. Not yet.
And hearing Kate's voice break over a man who broke her heart before him—while unknowingly foreshadowing that he was about to do the same…
It killed something inside him.
"I can't keep doing this," he whispered to himself, rubbing his hands over his face. "She doesn't deserve this. Not from me. Not again."
He thought love would come easy this time. That with Kate, everything would be gentle and soft and healing.
But love wasn't gentle. Not when you were still bleeding from the last one.
He stood slowly, numb all over.
He already knew what he had to do.
He had to cut the cord. End this before he broke her any further. He wasn't the kind of man she needed. He wasn't sure he ever would be.
Maybe love just wasn't for him.
And maybe letting her go was the last good thing he could do for her.
Because she deserved to be chosen.
Not kept in limbo.
Not waiting.
Not confused.
He looked at her door again through the glass.
And whispered, like a man mourning something that hadn't died—yet.
"I'm sorry, Kate."