Chapter 106 One Hundred & Six
Maya gently took Izzy’s hand, her fingers warm and steady against the tremble she felt there.
“Come,” she said softly, her voice wrapping around Izzy like a blanket. “Sit.”
They moved back to the couch together. Izzy curled her legs beneath her, small and folded in on herself, as if trying to take up less space in a world that suddenly felt too loud. Her eyes were glassy. Fragile. The kind of fragile that came after holding everything in for far too long.
Maya turned fully toward her, tucking one leg under her body so there was no distance between them.
“I’m going to tell you something,” she said gently but firmly. “And I need you to really hear me. Not just listen… hear me.”
Izzy nodded, though her throat felt tight. She wasn’t sure she trusted her voice.
Maya reached up and brushed a strand of hair away from Izzy’s face, her touch tender, almost protective.
“I hope you find someone who always chooses you,” Maya began, her eyes unwavering. “Not when it’s convenient. Not when it’s easy. Not when it benefits them. But in the moments that matter most. The messy moments. The uncertain ones. The ones that test everything.”
Izzy’s lips trembled, and she pressed them together, trying to keep her composure.
“Someone who doesn’t trigger your anxiety,” Maya continued, her voice steady but filled with emotion. “Someone who doesn’t make you overthink every text, every pause, every change in tone. Someone who doesn’t leave you guessing whether you matter.”
A tear slipped down Izzy’s cheek before she could stop it.
“But someone who gives you peace,” Maya said softly. “Real peace. The kind that lets your shoulders relax. The kind that lets you sleep at night. Someone who makes you feel safe. Safe enough that you never have to question where you stand. Safe enough that you don’t feel like you’re one argument away from being left.”
Izzy’s chest tightened painfully at that.
“I hope you find someone who is intentional about loving you,” Maya went on. “Someone who shows up even when you feel unworthy. Even when you’re not at your best. Someone who reminds you of your value… not just with pretty words… but with consistency. With patience. With effort. With actions that don’t waver.”
Izzy looked down at her hands, twisting her fingers together, shame creeping in where love had once lived so easily.
“I hope you find someone who doesn’t stay silent when communication is needed,” Maya said, her voice gaining strength. “Someone who doesn’t disappear when things get hard. Someone who doesn’t punish you with distance. Someone who fights for understanding instead of creating space that feels like abandonment.”
The room felt still. Heavy. Honest. The kind of silence that holds truth.
“I hope you find someone who is never okay with losing you,” Maya whispered, her own eyes beginning to shine. “Someone who protects what you have. Who nurtures it. Who treats your heart like something sacred… not something to test, not something to gamble with.”
Izzy’s breathing grew uneven. Every word felt like both comfort and confrontation.
“Because you were never asking for too much,” Maya said, her tone firm now, almost fierce. “You were asking for the right kind of love. And the right love never makes you feel like a burden for needing it.”
Silence stretched between them, thick and trembling.
Izzy finally looked up, her eyes red from all the crying.
“What if I don’t find that?” she asked quietly, her voice small, almost childlike. “What if this is the best I get?”
Maya’s expression softened immediately. She squeezed Izzy’s hand.
“Then you stay single until you do,” she said without hesitation. “Loneliness is quieter than confusion. And peace is better than a draining relationship.”
Izzy let out a soft, shaky breath.
“And if Dominic can’t be that man,” Maya added gently, choosing her words with care, “then loving him doesn’t mean you let him treat you bad. It doesn’t mean you settle. It just means you take your lesson and walk away. It means he was part of your story… not the ending.”
The name lingered in the air.
Izzy leaned her head back against the couch and stared at the ceiling. The tears didn’t stop,
Maya shifted closer and took Izzy’s hands in hers.
“You’re my friend,” she said softly. “My sister. I love you.”
Izzy’s eyes filled again.
“And it breaks my heart,” Maya continued, her voice tightening, “that he treats you like you’re less. Like you’re something he can pause and come back to.”
Izzy swallowed, her throat thick.
“I’m honestly holding myself back from going over there and beating the hell out of him,” Maya added, half serious, half emotional. “Only for your sake.”
A small, weak laugh escaped Izzy despite everything.
“I mean it,” Maya said firmly. “You deserve someone who stands up for you. Not someone who hides you.”
Izzy looked down. “He says he loves me.”
“Him loving you doesn't make it a healthy one,” Maya replied calmly. “Because love without action is just words. And words don’t protect your heart.”
Izzy wiped her cheeks again.
“I hate seeing you cry over someone who should be fighting for you,” Maya said. “If a man truly fears losing you, he moves differently.”
That settled deep.
“If he was scared of losing you,” Maya went on, “he would have stopped that engagement. Not asked you to wait while he marries someone else.”
The truth stung, but it also cleared something inside Izzy.
“I don’t want to fight his mother for him,” Izzy whispered. “I don’t want to compete with Sienna.”
“And you shouldn’t,” Maya said immediately. “Love is not a competition.”
Izzy leaned into her friend again, exhausted but steadier.
“For now,” Maya said gently, “you breathe. You don’t call him. You don’t text him. You let him feel what it’s like to not have you at his fingertips.”
Izzy nodded slowly.
Because maybe, just maybe…
If Dominic really didn’t want to lose her…
He would finally have to man up.