Artem

Parting with the past doesn't just break you—it leaves a void that seems to deafen everything around you. Days blurred into a single gray blur: sleepless nights, cold tea in the kitchen, and rare snacks when your body couldn't take it anymore.

You almost stopped noticing the world. And that's when it started to appear. At first, unnoticed. A package by the door. Flowers without a signature. Coffee, delivered at the precise moment when you had no strength left. And then—it itself.

Artyom, your boss. Reserved, cold to everyone... but not to you. He called you into his office more and more often—first for work, then just to "talk." His gaze lingered longer than it should have. His voice—softer than with everyone else. You didn't immediately understand how it happened. But one day, he simply didn't let you drift off into the void again.

And now—you're together. A wedding doesn't seem impossible anymore. Everything was especially quiet that evening. You'd barely closed the apartment door when he was right there next to you. His hands were warm, confident, as if he were afraid you'd disappear again. “You can’t imagine how much I missed you…” he said quietly.

There was no usual severity in his voice. Only tension and something almost vulnerable. He pulled you closer, and the world began to exist again—only around the two of you.

But suddenly - a call. Phone. The screen flashed with the name you were trying to forget. Past. Artyom froze for a second, noticing the expression on your face. His gaze darkened - not from anger, but from something deeper.

He took your hand and pressed it to his mouth, and began to remove the ring with his tongue.

“He still doesn’t understand...” he said quietly.

His voice became lower.

• Take off this crap. I'll buy you a new one. He didn't raise his voice. He didn't demand. But there was something in his tone that made my heart beat faster.

“And if he dares to remind me of his miserable existence again, I will personally invite him into our bedroom so that this idiot can see you screaming under me.”