Chapter 64 Even In Heartbreak
Mia's POV
I curled on my side beneath my blanket, the moonlight filtering through the window and painting soft shadows on the wall. The apartment is too quiet. Even the clock ticking on my desk sounded cruel tonight, like a countdown I did not know I was waiting for.
I had been staring at my phone for the past hour, not expecting anything, but still hoping.
And then it lit up. My chest stilled.
A text message from Liam.
My fingers trembled as I unlocked the screen, breath caught halfway in my throat. I read slowly, as if giving myself time would change the meaning.
"I'm sorry, Mia. But it's over between us.
I apologize if I led you on. You're amazing, and I wish you nothing but the best. I'm proud of you for acing every quiz." The silence around me thickened as my heart cracked wide open.
There it was, so neat and so cold, like we were nothing more than classmates parting ways after a group project. Not two people who shared kisses and promises. Not two hearts that once beat just a little faster for each other. Not me and Liam.
My vision blurred. The screen doubled.
I set the phone down on the pillow beside me and slowly sat up. My chest hurt, like someone had placed a weight over my ribs and pressed, slow and cruel.
I wanted to scream and cry until I could not breathe, but I did not. I stared at the wall, numb, my arms wrapped around myself like I was trying to keep my soul from leaking out.
And then, the worst thought came, one that sliced deeper than the message:
He meant it. I was not even worth a conversation. Not a call. Not an explanation. Just a few polite lines and a final goodbye.
I bit my lip until it stung, until the taste of metal reminded me I was still alive.
Then, with trembling fingers, I picked up the phone again. Not to reply. But to reread it. To make sure I had not imagined how final it felt.
I had not imagined it. He really ended everything without warning. There was no goodbye I could prepare myself for, only a screen and a few cold lines. They felt so distant and impersonal that it was hard to believe they came from the boy who once looked at me like I meant everything to him. And even though I already knew it was over between us, it still hurt.
I pressed the back of my hand to my mouth, my breathing sharp and uneven, and slowly curled to my side. The blanket came up over my head like a fragile barrier between me and a world that had suddenly turned too cruel.
A single tear slid down my cheek. Then another.
And another. But I did not sob. I did not scream like I wanted to. That was all I allowed.
Because even in heartbreak, I would not fall apart for him. Not after he left me behind without the courage to say it to my face.
I bit my lip so hard it burned. Rage tangled with sorrow in my chest, tight and ugly. My throat ached, not just from holding back tears, but from swallowing down all the things I wanted to say.
I hated him for this.
But even more than that, I hated myself, for believing he was different. For thinking the way he looked at me had been real.
He proved me wrong. And that betrayal cut deeper than the words on my screen. He did not even have the decency to end it like a man.
I rolled onto my back, eyes fixed on the ceiling, the weight of everything pressing against my ribcage.
"Hey... are you okay?" Josh asked the moment I stepped out of my room the next morning.
I froze in the doorway, fingers tightening around the strap of my bag. For a brief second, my walls faltered. My mask slipped. And in that fraction of silence, Josh saw it, the exhaustion in my eyes, the ache I was still pretending not to feel.
But then I smiled. Not the kind that reached my eyes. Just the kind that said, I have been hurt before. I will survive this too.
"Liam broke up with me through a text last night," I said quietly, my tone flat, rehearsed. "After weeks of parading his fiancée around school like I was invisible... he finally found the courage to send a message. Isn't that sweet?"
Josh stared at me, stunned. His hands curled into fists before he could stop them.
"You're kidding," he breathed. "He didn't even say it to your face?"
I shook my head with a soft, bitter laugh. "Nope. But he did say he's proud of me for acing my quizzes, so I guess I should feel honored."
Josh was quiet for a second. And then he stepped forward, no words, no hesitation, and pulled me into his arms.
I stiffened at first, but his warmth melted into me, steady and grounding, like he was trying to hold my pain for me. I did not cry. But for a moment, I let myself rest in the safety of my best friend.
Then, like always, I pulled back.
"I'm okay," I said with a practiced smile, brushing invisible dust from my shirt. "Really."
Josh looked at me for a long time. "No. You're not."
"Josh"
"I'm driving you to the academy," he said, already grabbing his keys.
"Josh, you don't have to"
"I want to," he cut in, sharper than before. "I'm not letting you walk in there alone. Not after what he did."
I did not argue again. Part of me was too tired. And another part, the part still bleeding, just wanted someone to fight for me.
The drive was quiet. Until it was not. Because as we reached the academy gates, Liam's car pulled up on the opposite side, gliding in like fate wanted to twist the knife just a little deeper.
Our doors opened at the same time.
The moment I stepped out, I forced myself to look calm. I wore a fake smile like nothing was wrong.
I did not look at Liam. Not even once. I kept my face blank and my head high, like I was unbothered. I kept walking without slowing down, but inside, my silence was louder than any words.
But Josh moved without hesitation, no warning at all.
He strode across the parking lot like a storm, fire in his veins, fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white.
"Josh" I gasped, realizing too late what was happening.
Liam barely had time to process the sudden rush of footsteps, before the world cracked.
CRACK.
Josh's fist connected with Liam's jaw in one clean, brutal punch. The sound echoed like a thunderclap across the courtyard.
Gasps erupted from every direction.
Backpacks dropped. Students froze mid-step. A few shouted. Others just stared, wide-eyed and breathless.
Liam stumbled backward, caught off-guard, blood trickling from the corner of his lip as he looked up in shock. And I was frozen on the pavement, one hand covering my mouth, my heart stopped mid-beat.
And all I could whisper, barely audible through the chaos
"Josh... what did you do?"