A ROOM FOR TWO

The rain had been falling since morning.

A cold, relentless drizzle washed over the city, turning the streets silver and blurring the world beyond the café windows.

Ziyu sat alone in the corner booth, her hands wrapped tightly around a mug of coffee that had long since gone cold.

Her company was gone.

The doors had been locked that morning.

Years of work, countless sleepless nights, endless sacrifices—all erased by a bankruptcy notice taped to a glass door.

The final paycheck she desperately needed was trapped in legal proceedings.

Her rent was overdue.

Her savings were nearly gone.

And for the first time in two years, she felt completely defeated.

For two years, pride had been her shield.

She had ignored calls.

Left messages unanswered.

Pretended she was doing fine.

Pretended she didn't miss him.

Pretended she wasn't still hopelessly in love with him.

But today she couldn't pretend anymore.

This morning, with shaking hands and tears in her eyes, she had finally called Adrian.

"Can we meet?" she had whispered.

There had been no hesitation.

"Of course."

Just like that.

As if two years had never happened.

As if he had been waiting.

Now she glanced at the clock.

He was late.

Her stomach tightened.

What if he didn't care anymore?

What if she had pushed him away for too long?

What if—

The café door opened.

A burst of cold air swept inside.

Instinctively, she looked up.

And her heart stopped.

Through the rain-streaked glass, she saw Adrian standing across the street.

For one beautiful second, relief flooded her chest.

Then she saw the girl beside him.

Young.

Pretty.

Laughing.

The girl nudged his shoulder playfully while holding an umbrella over both of them.

Adrian laughed.

The sound was distant through the rain, but Ziyu recognized that smile immediately.

She used to be the reason for it.

The warmth she had felt moments earlier twisted into something sharp and poisonous.

No.

No.

Not him.

Not Adrian.

Not after everything.

While she had been falling apart, he had moved on.

He had found someone else.

Before she could stop herself, Ziyu stood so quickly that her chair scraped loudly against the floor.

She rushed out of the café.

Rain instantly soaked her clothes.

Cars splashed water onto the pavement as she crossed the street.

Adrian noticed her immediately.

His eyes widened.

"Ziyu?"

She ignored the relief in his voice.

Instead, she stared at the girl beside him.

"Who is she?"

Confusion crossed Adrian's face.

"What?"

"I asked who she is."

The girl blinked, startled, and tried to speak. "Wait, I'm—"

"Answer me, Adrian!" Ziyu shouted, cutting her off.

Adrian took a slow breath, trying to calm the storm.

"Please, let me explain."

Something inside her snapped.

"Explain what?" she demanded.

The tears she had been holding back all day finally escaped.

"I spent two years becoming someone I thought you'd be proud of."

Adrian froze.

Rain dripped from his dark hair.

His expression changed completely.

"You... waited?" he asked quietly.

Ziyu laughed bitterly.

"Of course I waited."

Her voice cracked.

"I never stopped loving you."

The confession hung between them.

For a moment, Adrian looked completely stunned.

Then something heartbreakingly hopeful appeared in his eyes.

But Ziyu couldn't see it.

All she could see was the girl standing beside him.

"You moved on."

"No."

"You found someone else."

"No."

"Stop lying!"

"No!" Adrian shouted.

The word echoed through the rain.

Silence followed.

Ziyu stared at him.

In all the years she had known him, she had never heard him raise his voice.

Not once.

The anger vanished from his face almost immediately.

What remained was exhaustion.

Pain.

Love.

The kind of love that had survived years of separation.

Slowly, Adrian slipped a hand into his coat pocket.

Ziyu let out a humorless laugh.

"What now?"

Her voice trembled.

"Are you going to show me pictures of your new life?"

The hope in Adrian's eyes shattered.

His hand stopped.

For several seconds, he simply stood there.

Then, slowly, he pulled it back out.

Empty.

"I spent two years trying to find my way back to you," he said softly.

Every word sounded broken.

"Every single day."

Ziyu looked away.

She wanted to believe him.

God, she wanted to believe him.

But fear was louder.

Fear had always been louder.

"I can't do this anymore, Adrian."

The words came out barely above a whisper.

"Just go."

Adrian stared at her.

Rain rolled down his face.

For a brief moment, it looked like he wanted to argue.

To fight for her.

To say something important.

Something final.

Instead, he nodded.

A small, defeated movement.

"Goodbye, Ziyu."

Then he turned away.

And stepped off the curb.

The world shattered.

A horn screamed.

Tires skidded violently across the rain-slick road.

Someone shouted.

Adrian turned too late.

The impact echoed through the street.

His body was thrown across the asphalt before crashing motionless onto the pavement.

Everything stopped.

The traffic.

The rain.

The city.

Time itself.

Ziyu stood frozen.

Her mind refused to understand what her eyes were seeing.

This wasn't real.

It couldn't be real.

Not Adrian.

Not him.

A few feet away, something small slid across the wet pavement.

A velvet box.

The girl who had been standing beside Adrian rushed toward it.

Her hands trembled as she picked it up.

When she opened it, she began to sob.