Chapter 80: It was always you

Alan's POV

I didn't know what exactly had happened between Milie and Daxton.

I only knew one thing. She was crying. Sammy's phone was on speaker when she called.

"I told him..." Her voice had cracked. "I finally told him."

Then another broken whisper. "It didn't go well, Sammy."

I could barely hear the rest because Sammy immediately stepped away, speaking softly to her.

When he returned, his face had lost all color. "I have to go."

He grabbed his keys. "Daxton needs me."

Then he looked at me. "And Alan… please talk to Milie and be with her."

I nodded and called her immediately.

No answer. I called again and again, but she hung up.

On the Fourth call, she just switched it off. A knot settled inside my chest.

I didn't even remember leaving campus. I just knew I was already on my bike and had reached her home.

"Aunty, is Milie home?"

"No..." Her mother said casually. "She hasn't come back yet."

Her smile disappeared the moment she noticed my expression.

"What’s the matter? Is she okay?"

"Yes, yes, aunty. Of course." By then I was already stepping back.

"You fought again?" Her eyes narrowed at me.

"No, not at all. Everything is alright. Please don’t worry. We will be back soon."

She nodded with a faint smile. I maintained a cool facade, but inside, my heart dropped.

The flashes of her fainting at my place flickered in front of my eyes.

"She hadn't eaten properly, hadn’t slept properly for a few days. Then in the morning, she got to know about her Dad’s problem, now she almost lost her favorite person."

"Oh, God. She would be in a devastating condition. I gripped the handlebars tighter. "Please..."

I whispered into the empty road. "Just be safe."

By late afternoon, I'd searched almost every place I could think of. The lake, the basketball court, the old park, her favorite food trucks.

I even rode past Daxton's neighborhood. Not because I expected her to be there.

But because I was running out of places to look.

My heart felt heavier with every passing minute.

"Where the hell are you girl? Please talk to me once."

I stopped my bike by the river. My hands were shaking so badly I couldn't even hold the phone properly.

I wiped my face. When did I start crying? I didn't even know.

I called Sammy.

"I can’t find her." My voice sounded heavy.

"Alan..." He tried calming me. "She'll be okay."

"No." I shook my head instinctively.

"You know when she blames herself she forgets herself."

"I know. Let me think."

I exhaled, calming my anxious heart, and waited there. Nearly ten minutes later… My phone rang.

"Yes, any updates?" I asked.

"Reunion cafe."

I frowned. "The one outside the city?"

"Yeah."

"How do you know?"

"...Daxton knew."

I blinked. "So he's already there?" My heart felt at ease with the thought of Daxton there.

"No… He isn't going."

"What? Why?" Something inside me tightened. "Right now, all she want is Daxton."

"I know, and I'm trying to get Daxton there, but till then, you—

"Yeah, I understand."

Forty minutes later… I parked outside Reunion Café. My heart was beating so loudly I could hear it.

I looked through the glass, and there she was. First table, near the entrance. Exactly where anyone walking in would see her right away.

I didn't walk inside. Not immediately. I just stood there, looking at her.

She hadn't moved. Her fingers kept twisting the paper napkin apart.

One leg bounced restlessly beneath the table. Every few seconds she looked toward the entrance.

Hope, disappointment, and hope again. Then back to staring at nothing.

Her glass of water hadn't even been touched.

She looked smaller than I'd ever seen her. My chest hurt.

I remembered the first day I met her.

The loud girl. The impossible girl. The one who laughed before thinking.

The one who argued over everything. The one who somehow made every room brighter.

Where had she gone?

When had she started carrying everyone else's pain before her own? Was it because of me?

Had loving me taken away the happiest parts of her?

The thought scared me more than anything.

I called Sammy. "I found her."

A long exhale came from the other end. "How is she?"

I watched her wipe another tear before quickly pretending nothing had happened whenever someone walked past.

"...Not okay… At all."

"Is Daxton coming?"

"No."

"I've tried."

"He locked himself inside."

I closed my eyes. Poor idiot. Poor all of us. "I'll take care of her."

"I have no doubt." Sammy said quietly.

Before walking inside, I ordered a grilled sandwich and a coffee. Then I finally walked towards her.

Without saying a word, I sat down across the table.

Without looking up, she spoke. "I'm waiting for someone. Could you please come later?"

My heart broke. Because even now she still believed he'd walk through that door.

I smiled sadly. "I know, and until he comes, you're eating something."

Her head snapped up. The moment she saw me, panic flooded her face.

"No." She stood immediately.

"You shouldn’t be here."

"Milie—"

"If Daxton sees you…" Her voice trembled. "I'll lose him forever."

She grabbed my wrist.

"Please, Alan. Go."

I gently held her shoulders and made her sit.

"Look at me."

Her lips quivered violently.

"He'll come. I promise."

Those words shattered whatever control she had left. "He will, Alan?"

"Yes, he will." I said, sliding beside her, and she collapsed into my arms and sobbed.

"I ruined everything…"

"I ruined everything, Alan."

I held her tighter. "No, you told the truth."

"The truth hurt him so much." She cried harder.

"But lies would have hurt him longer."

"I don't deserve him anymore. He gave me everything."

"And I couldn't even give him one thing."

"Stop blaming yourself, Mils," I said, stroking her back. "You just listen to your heart."

"Tell me, do you regret choosing me?"

"No, not at all." The answer came instantly. She pulled away and shook her head firmly through tears.

"It was always you, Alan."

I froze.

"My heart never chose anyone else. Just you. I have no confusion about it." My throat tightened painfully.

"But I regret hurting Daxton, and I'll regret that all my life."

"Choosing you?" Another shake of her head. "I never regretted that."

I closed my eyes briefly. I wouldn't ask anything more.

Then she looked at me helplessly. "But I'm incomplete without them."

Her fingers twisted together. "You're my love."

"But Sammy and Daxton…" Her voice broke. "they're my home."

"We grew up together."

"We know every scar, every fear, every stupid memory."

"How do I build my happiness by destroying theirs?"

I swallowed hard. There was no answer to that.

"Daxton will come around, Mils. Give him some time. Till then please eat something."

"No, I can't. I’m sure he will be on his way." She again looked at the entrance. "You just leave."

I exhaled and dialed Sammy before putting it on the loudspeaker. "Sammy, did Dax leave?"

Milie's head snapped back to me.

"No, man. He has locked himself in his room."

"Tell him Milie wants to talk to him."

"Dax." We could hear Sammy knocking on the door. "Milie is on the line. Please talk to her once."

"Dax. She is waiting for you there."

A muffled response came from behind the door, too faint for us to hear.

Sammy sighed heavily and knocked again. "Bro, she won't leave until you come."

Milie nodded, hoping he would melt now, but her face crumpled as soon as Sammy spoke again.

"He's not coming, Alan." Tears rolled silently down Milie’s face.

I ended the call gently and tried to wipe her tears, but she shoved my hand away. "Why don't you just leave?"

Her voice carried frustration now. “You're being here stops him from coming."

Something inside me snapped. "What about me, Milie?"

My voice came out sharper than intended. "I love you.. How do you expect me not to worry?"

"You disappeared for hours. You switched off your phone."

"You were crying alone in a café, and I should just stay different. Sorry, my heart is not made that way.

She looked away stubbornly. I stared at the untouched sandwich between us.

Then I stood up. "Fine. If my presence is stopping him…"

I picked up my coffee. "…I'll wait somewhere else."

I walked to a table at the far corner of the café. Then I broke the sandwich in half.

I carried one half back to her table and quietly placed it on her plate.

"I'm only eating if you do." I returned to my seat.

She glared at me. I ignored it deliberately.

For nearly a minute, neither of us moved.

Then, with a wrinkled face, she picked up the sandwich and took a reluctant bite.

I finally took one too.

Outside, evening slowly melted into night.

Inside, every time the bell above the café door rang, Milie looked up with hope in her eyes.

Every single time… It was someone else.

She kept waiting for the friend she'd broken, and I kept waiting beside the girl I loved.