Cain

You sat at a table, swirling a glass of champagne in your hand. Music was playing around you, guests were laughing, someone had already started dancing, and you felt like an outsider at this celebration. Especially when out of the corner of your eye you caught the silhouette of a person sitting at another table.

Cain didn't look in your direction. Or pretended not to. But what difference did it make if inside you were seething with resentment and melancholy?

You were the perfect couple, really. It used to seem like you could survive anything. Any misunderstandings ended almost before they even began. Cain never raised his voice at you, never tried to hurt you, never left until everything was cleared up.

He always remained calm while you were exploding with emotion, patiently waiting for you to calm down. That's why you loved him. Tall, brown-eyed, with unruly waves on his head. It was always calm next to him, as if no troubles could reach you.

But when you moved in together, you learned what everyday life was like. Fatigue built up with each passing day. There were no big scandals or betrayals. Nothing happened that usually causes breakups. No one wanted to fight, but one day they still lost it.

You couldn't even remember how it all started. Some small thing. An unwashed mug, a forgotten request, an unfortunate phrase. Word after word, and no one could stop.

For the first time, Cain didn't make peace right away. He silently went into another room. You also decided that you wouldn't make the first move. A day passed like that, then a second. No one broke the silence.

So when your friends invited you to their wedding, you really didn't want to go. But refusing would have meant letting down the people who had been with you for years, and you went anyway.

And so today you were sitting at this event. You sat at one table, he at another. Your heart was aching. You wanted to rush to him, hug him, whisper that you were an idiot, that this was all nonsense. But pride wouldn't let you, and he, apparently, wasn't going to be the first to make peace this time, even though he'd always made the first move before.

All the time your gaze found Cain on its own. He talked with friends, sometimes smiled, but never once looked in your direction. This only made it harder. You missed him.

At that moment, a strange guy stopped next to you.

• Can?

You nodded. The conversation flowed unexpectedly easily. He was cheerful, open, constantly joking, and soon you were smiling. Not because you were genuinely having fun, but because now you felt like he was constantly looking at you.

You looked up and saw Cain. For just a few seconds, he then turned away again, as if he was completely uninterested in what was happening.

It hurt. If he doesn't care, then you shouldn't either. You started laughing louder, leaning closer to your interlocutor, maintaining a light flirtation, although inside you felt only emptiness.

You weren't doing this for a stranger; you were waiting for Cain's reaction. You wanted to see irritation, jealousy, any kind of emotion. But he continued talking calmly to the guests, as if you weren't there at all.

By the end of the evening, you'd almost convinced yourself it was all over. Your new acquaintance invited you to dance, already getting up from his seat, when suddenly a familiar figure stopped next to you. A familiar cologne hit your head, and you looked up. Cain.

He stood right above you, still calm, with that same impenetrable expression on his face that you knew all too well.

• Get up. We have to go.

You smiled slowly.

• What? Why? I'm having fun here too.

The guy sitting next to you looked questioningly at you, then at your boyfriend. Cain didn't even turn his head. His entire attention was focused solely on you.

— Did you want to get my attention? You succeeded.

The jealousy he'd been trying to hide all evening was finally exactly what you'd been waiting for.

He extended his hand to you.

• Get up, we have to go home.

You sat at a table, swirling a glass of champagne in your hand. Music was playing around you, guests were laughing, someone had already started dancing, and you felt like an outsider at this celebration. Especially when out of the corner of your eye you caught the silhouette of a person sitting at another table.

Cain didn't look in your direction. Or pretended not to. But what difference did it make if inside you were seething with resentment and melancholy?

You were the perfect couple, really. It used to seem like you could survive anything. Any misunderstandings ended almost before they even began. Cain never raised his voice at you, never tried to hurt you, never left until everything was cleared up.

He always remained calm while you were exploding with emotion, patiently waiting for you to calm down. That's why you loved him. Tall, brown-eyed, with unruly waves on his head. It was always calm next to him, as if no troubles could reach you.

But when you moved in together, you learned what everyday life was like. Fatigue built up with each passing day. There were no big scandals or betrayals. Nothing happened that usually causes breakups. No one wanted to fight, but one day they still lost it.

You couldn't even remember how it all started. Some small thing. An unwashed mug, a forgotten request, an unfortunate phrase. Word after word, and no one could stop.

For the first time, Cain didn't make peace right away. He silently went into another room. You also decided that you wouldn't make the first move. A day passed like that, then a second. No one broke the silence.

So when your friends invited you to their wedding, you really didn't want to go. But refusing would have meant letting down the people who had been with you for years, and you went anyway.

And so today you were sitting at this event. You sat at one table, he at another. Your heart was aching. You wanted to rush to him, hug him, whisper that you were an idiot, that this was all nonsense. But pride wouldn't let you, and he, apparently, wasn't going to be the first to make peace this time, even though he'd always made the first move before.