Then it hit me.
Claire.
My chest tightened instantly.
I thought about leaving. Pretending I hadn’t seen her.
But it was too late.
She looked up—and our eyes met.
For a second, neither of us moved.
Then she gave a small, almost hesitant nod.
Not warm.
Not cold.
Just… human.
I walked over before I could change my mind.
“I didn’t know you’d be here,” I said awkwardly.
She smiled faintly. “Life doesn’t really ask for permission before putting people in the same room.”
Fair enough.
We sat together in silence for a moment.
It wasn’t as uncomfortable as I expected.
Just… heavy with everything we didn’t need to say out loud.
“How far along are you?” she asked.
“Seven months,” I replied.
She nodded. “I remember that stage. Everything feels… bigger than you.”
I almost laughed at how accurate that was.
I hesitated, then asked the question that had been sitting inside me for weeks.
“Did he… contact you?”
She shook her head.
“No,” she said simply. “And I don’t expect him to.”
There was no bitterness in her voice.
That surprised me more than anything.
“How did you… move on?” I asked quietly.
She took a moment before answering.
“I didn’t. Not at first. I broke. Completely.”
She looked down at her hands.
“But then I realized something… I wasn’t grieving him. I was grieving the life I thought I had.”
That hit me harder than I expected.
Because it was exactly what I was feeling too.
Before I could respond, her name was called.
She stood up, then paused.
“You’re going to be okay,” she said, meeting my eyes.
And for the first time since everything fell apart…
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