Chapter 79 The boy whose dreams shattered

Chapter 79 The boy whose dreams shattered
Daxton's POV

I didn't remember how long I was crying. 

My breath choked, my brain fogged, and my body crumbled on the floor. 

She loved someone else. Alan. The words echoed again, and again, and again.

Each repetition felt like another knife twisting deeper into my chest.

I shook my head. "Everything I'd imagined… Gone. The tiny apartment we'd joked about decorating together. Gone. Watching her fall asleep beside me after movie nights. Gone."

All those dreams collapsed within minutes. I clutched my shirt over my chest. It physically hurt.

Every breath scraped against my ribs. "Why..." My voice cracked.

"What did I do wrong? What did Alan have… that I didn't?"

"I had loved you for years. I watched over you. I waited for you. I respected your pace."

"Never rushed you. Never demanded anything. Then why…"

"Why couldn't you love me?"

"What was missing, Milie?"

Another sob escaped before I could stop it. "I would've given you everything..."

My voice broke completely. "I would've spent my whole life making you happy."

"Why?" The room spun, and I leaned my head back against the wall.

For the first time… I hated hope. I always convinced myself… Someday she'd wake up and realize she'd loved me all along.

Instead… She'd fallen for someone else. 

I squeezed my eyes shut. "No..."

"I can't..."

"I can't lose you, Milie."

Another wave of grief crashed into me, and I screamed aloud in pain. "Come back, please."

"Tell me everything you said is wrong. Please… don't leave me."

But nothing changed. Nothing at all changed. 

Just then… The doorbell rang. Once, twice, thrice, but I ignored it.

Another knock followed, louder this time, and then came a familiar voice.

"Dax!"

Another bang.

"Bro!"

More knocking.

"I know you're inside."

I didn't move. My breathing was still uneven. 

"Please… open it. I heard you." The voice softened, and my eyes turned to the door. 

"Sammy."

I somehow forced myself to stand. My legs felt like they belonged to someone else.

The knocking hadn't stopped. "Dax… I'm not leaving."

The moment I opened it, I crashed into Sammy, not because I lost my balance.

Because I had nothing left to hold myself together.

His arms wrapped around me instantly. Strong, familiar, and safe.

He didn't ask questions. He simply held me. That somehow made everything worse.

The tears returned all over again. "She left me..."

My voice came out broken. "Sammy… she doesn't love me."

His grip around me tightened. "I know."

That was all he said. Just two words. No false hope. No empty reassurance.

And somehow, that honesty hurt less than lies would've.

I buried my face against his shoulder. "I can't do this."

"I can't imagine waking up tomorrow knowing she belongs to someone else."

"I can't… I just can't."

Sammy slowly rubbed my back the way he always did whenever one of us had a terrible day.

He then pulled me inside and quietly shut the door behind us.

Neither of us spoke until we reached the living room. He guided me toward the couch.

I sat, or rather collapsed. Sammy crouched in front of me. His own eyes were red.

"Dax..."

I stared blankly at the floor.

"My whole life… I only wanted one thing."

A weak laugh escaped. "One, Just one."

Sammy looked away and wiped the tears before turning back to me. 

"You know something, Dax?" Her voice, too, came broken. "I've never seen anyone love the way you love her."

That almost broke me again.

"Then why wasn't it enough?"

Sammy looked down. "I don't have an answer for that, Dax. I don’t have."

"And I'm sorry. I’m sorry, bro. I should’ve told you before."  

I slowly looked up. "What?" My heartbeat slowed.

"I thought Milie should be the one to tell you, but I was wrong." His voice trembled. 

A terrible feeling settled inside my chest. He rubbed both palms over his face.

"I should've told you earlier."

No. No… Please don't. 

I stared at him. Unable to blink. Unable to breathe.

"What are you talking about?"

He finally looked into my eyes. There was guilt. So much guilt. "I knew."

The room fell silent. "I knew… about Alan and Milie."

For a moment, I genuinely forgot how to breathe. For a long moment… I simply stared at him.

Waiting… waiting for him to laugh, and tell me it was a joke, but he didn't.

"I knew..." His voice was barely above a whisper. "...that she had feelings for Alan."

Something inside me snapped. I stood so abruptly the center table rattled.

"And you hide from me?" 

Sammy flinched. Then nodded slowly. 

"You watched me dream. You watched me talk about marrying her, having kids."

"You watched me build my entire future around her… and you said nothing." My voice rose, and every word echoed through the house.

Sammy stood frozen. "I was trying to protect—"

"Who?" I cut him off.

"Her? Alan? Because I don’t see myself in that list." 

His shoulders dropped.

"Bro, I’m sorry. I– I couldn’t choose." His voice cracked 

"I couldn't choose between my brother and the girl I've called family since we were kids."

The anger inside me rose stronger. "So you chose them."

"I wasn't left with an option, bro. I had watched her cry."

"I had watched her convince herself she was doing the right thing."

"I had watched her avoid Alan. I watched her suffer because of that."

I stared at him, and a broken laugh escaped my mouth. 

"You expect me to feel sorry for her?"

"No."

"I expect you to know the truth."

I scoffed.

"The truth?"

"The truth is… both of my friends have betrayed me." 

Each sentence landed like a hammer.

"No… No, bro." Sammy shook his head firmly and reached out for my hand.

"She kept choosing you."

"Again, and again, and again until her heart refused to obey anymore."

I looked away, because part of me hated hearing it. 

"Dax, please—"

Tring, Tring… Suddenly, his phone chimed, and he glanced at the screen before answering.  

"Alan, is she okay?"

A pause.

"What? She didn't go home?" 

Another pause.

"Then where can she be?" 

His eyes widened. My head snapped toward him. Sammy looked at me.

Fear had replaced every other emotion on his face.

"What happened?" I demanded. He slowly lowered the phone.

His voice came out barely audible. "She disappeared after talking to you."

"I thought she'd gone home."

"Alan checked."

"She isn't there."

"Aunty says she never came back. I'm worried. You know how things affect her." 

The air in the room seemed to disappear.

For a second… everything inside me stopped.

Sammy put the phone back to his ear. "Alan, calm down."

"...Did you check in college?"

Pause.

"...Basketball court?"

Pause.

"...Parking lot?"

Pause.

"...Her department?"

Another pause.

He ran a frustrated hand through his curls.

"No... stay there. Let me think."

He disconnected. I stared at him. A strange feeling spread through my chest.

She never handled emotional pain well. Whenever life overwhelmed her… she disappeared.

My heartbeat quickened. "Where would she go?"

"Dax, where can she go? Any idea?" He started calling people while I paced the room; my brain had already begun searching.

Think, think, Daxton. Where would she go?

Her favorite café? No. She hated crowded places when she cried.

The lake? No. 

My breathing grew heavier.

Where...

Where...

Where...

Then… A memory surfaced. Not from today, months ago.

It had been the first day of our date after we returned from the trip. 

We'd spent the afternoon in a tiny café tucked away near the old part of the city.

She had loved the place instantly. "It's so peaceful."

She'd smiled, wrapping both hands around her hot chocolate.

The café owner had laughed. "Did you two fight too?"

Milie had frowned. "What?"

He chuckled. "One couple before you came here fighting and went back smiling." 

She'd burst into laughter. "So this is basically a reconciliation café?"

"Exactly."

The owner had pointed toward the wooden board hanging above the counter. REUNION CAFÉ.

She'd looked at the name. Then at me. Then suddenly grew quiet.

"Dax..."

"Hmm?"

She stared outside the window for a long moment.

"What if… one day we have a really big fight?"

I laughed. "We won't."

"But what if we do?"

I shrugged. "We'll solve it."

"But what if… you're so angry that you don't even want to see me?"

I looked at her carefully. She wasn't joking. She genuinely looked afraid.

I reached across the table and held her hand. "Milie..."

She lowered her eyes. "What if I never feel like you feel for me?" 

"You will." 

"But what if?"

I blankly stared down at the table. That thought itself had scared me, yet I answered. 

"I don't know. Maybe I will get angry. Maybe I will need space. Honestly, I don't know what I will do. 

Her face fell. "I knew it..."

I squeezed her fingers. "But… No matter how angry I get, I'll always come back."

She blinked. "Really?"

I nodded. "Really."

She smiled again. Then suddenly pointed toward the café sign.

"Then promise me something."

"What?"

"If we ever fight.. I'll wait here." She looked around the café.

"You can take one day. One week. One month. I don't care."

"But… you have to come."

I laughed softly. "You're making a whole emergency plan?"

"I'm serious."

I extended my little finger. "Fine."

She hooked hers around mine. "If we ever lose each other..."

"...Reunion Café."

I smiled. 

"Deal?"

Then I kissed her forehead. "Deal."

The memory disappeared as quickly as it had come.

"Reunion Café." Words came out louder. Sammy looked confused.

"What?"

"She'll be there. I'm damn sure."

His eyes widened, and I was already walking toward the door. Sammy followed me. 

My hand reached the handle, but then… I stopped completely.

My fingers slowly loosened. The image of Milie's face flashed before me. "I love someone else."

A lump rose painfully in my throat. Sammy caught up beside me.

"Dax?" He placed a hand on my shoulder. "Let’s go." 

"No." I said coldly. "She wasn't waiting for me anymore. She was waiting for him."

"Bro… Right now, she needs you."

A bitter smile found its way onto my lips.

"No. She no longer needs me. She has Alan to take care of her."

Sammy's face crumpled. "Dax..."

I turned away from the door. Each step toward the staircase felt heavier than the last.

"Dax!"

I didn't stop.

"Please!"

Still… I kept walking and entered the room.

And for the first time in my life… I broke the promise I'd once made to the girl who had always called me home.