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*Chapter 3: The Rift*
It started small—an unanswered text, a late reply, a strange tone in Eli's voice one evening.
Maya asked, "Everything okay?"
Eli nodded, but his eyes didn't match his words.
Then came the night she saw a photo on his shelf. A woman—pretty, smiling, familiar in a way Maya didn't like. When she asked who it was, Eli hesitated.
"My ex," he said finally. "We were engaged… a long time ago."
The words hit harder than Maya expected.
"Why haven't you ever mentioned her?" she asked, trying to sound calm.
"I didn't think it mattered anymore."
But it did. Not because Maya was jealous—but because she felt blindsided. She thought they were building something honest. Something open. And in that moment, it didn't feel that way.
They argued—quiet at first, then sharp.
Maya accused him of hiding.
Eli said she was reading too much into everything.
Then came silence.
Days passed. No texts. No calls. Maya kept checking her phone, then pretending she wasn't. Eli kept replaying their last conversation, wondering if he was just doomed to push people away again.
They missed each other—but pride, fear, and pain built a wall neither was ready to break.