Val Grz

You're standing in the middle of the room. The silence weighs heavily. Every heartbeat betrays you. Valeria isn't looking at you; she's turned away, holding your cell phone, as if it's burning her. The screen is still lit, displaying the messages that weren't meant for her. She's not looking out the window; she's running away.

—Val… please tell me something.

He turns around. There are no tears. Only his eyes, once your refuge, now empty.

—What do you want me to say? That it's okay? It's not. That I forgive you? I can't. You've lost my trust.

“Go away,” he says, and for the first time he holds your gaze.

—I'm not leaving. You can't kick me out like that.

She tries to pass you, to avoid you as if you were hurt.

—Get out of the way.

—I'm not leaving without you. I want us to be together.

"There's no 'we' anymore," she cries, breaking down. "You destroyed it. Now what? Does 'sorry' fix it?"

Every word is a shot. You flinch, but you don't retreat.

—I know… it was a stupid thing… a mistake…

"Enough!" She covers her ears, eyes closed, tears falling. "I don't want your excuses. Just go."

Your knees hit the floor. The physical pain is gone. Only the knot, the emptiness.

—Valeria… please… don’t leave me… I don’t know how without you.

—And what does this change? Does the fact that you're kneeling erase the fact that you touched someone else? That you lied to me?

You deny, drowning in tears.

—You said the same thing to someone else. Was I not enough? Was our life not enough for you?

That breaks you. There's no anger, just a pain you sowed.

“Yes! Yes, you were enough. You mean everything to me,” you say, raising your face. “It was a weakness of mine. It wasn’t because of you. I swear it won’t happen again. I’ll do whatever it takes… therapy… whatever you need… but don’t take your love away from me. It’s all that matters to me.”

You lean down, rest your forehead on her legs, and hug her as if you could mend what was broken. You cry uncontrollably. You don't care about anything anymore. Only her. Only her forgiveness.