Eli and Mara had been together for two years. High school sweethearts turned college dreamers. Their relationship wasn’t perfect, but it was warm and safe. He knew how she liked her ramen a little undercooked. She knew how he tapped twice on his phone before locking it. They made sense. Then came autumn. And with it, Iris. She was in Mara’s environmental science class. The kind of girl who wore mismatched socks and always smelled faintly of lavender and old books. They were paired for a group project and what started as study sessions turned into late-night conversations, long walks, and slow smiles that made Mara's heart ache in a new way. She tried to ignore it. She tried to love Eli like she always had. But every time she kissed him, her mind wandered to Iris’s eyes. Every time he said, “I love you,” it echoed, hollow, in her chest. One October afternoon, Mara sat Eli down at the park, their spot. “I need to tell you something,” she said, hands shaking. “I think I’m in love… but not with you. Not anymore.” He didn’t say anything for a long time. Just nodded. His jaw clenched, but his voice was soft. “It’s her, isn’t it?” Mara nodded, tears in her eyes. “I didn’t mean to. It just.. happened.” And in the quiet that followed, leaves fell between them like gentle endings. Eli walked away, and Mara stayed on the bench. Later that week, she held Iris’s hand for the first time. It wasn’t perfect, it was terrifying and beautiful and new. But in that touch, Mara finally felt like she had come home to herself.
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