What Wasn't Said

You had been dating your boyfriend for several years. Your relationship had begun at university. During your first year, you shared several classes and often worked together on group and pair assignments. That was how you gradually grew closer, got to know each other better, and eventually started dating.

Your relationship with Noah developed slowly. You spent a lot of time talking and getting to know each other, and being able to communicate and discuss every problem became the foundation of your relationship. You loved each other deeply and cherished what you had. Every day, you nurtured the love you had built together.

You graduated from university together. You moved in together and started working. You worked for different companies, and since you were both just starting your careers, you had a lot of work every day. Over time, you began devoting more and more attention to work and spending less and less time with each other. Naturally, it affected your relationship. It became harder to have honest conversations and work through your problems. This led to arguments. But despite everything, you still tried to make your relationship work.

One day, while Noah was taking a shower, you accidentally saw a text message on his phone. It was from someone named Amelia.

The message was vague.

“I’m sorry about ruining dinner. I can explain everything.”

You had no idea who she was or what she meant by the message. An uncomfortable feeling settled in your chest. You spent a long time wondering whether you should ask Noah about her, but when he came out of the shower, you decided to pretend to be asleep.

Over the next few days, you noticed missed calls and messages from Amelia. But what felt even stranger was that Noah had started bringing little things home from work - a chocolate bar here, some candy there, sometimes a little note.

That uncomfortable feeling grew deeper and deeper, but you couldn’t bring yourself to talk to Noah about it. Maybe you were simply afraid that your worst suspicions would turn out to be true.

Because of it, you became distracted and kept making mistakes at work, which, of course, earned you several reprimands. This went on for some time, until one day you simply couldn’t take it anymore.

After making yet another mistake and being reprimanded at work, you took out your phone and texted Noah.

“I’m tired. I need some time alone. I’ll stay at my sister’s tonight.”

Your sister had recently gone on vacation and given you the keys to her apartment so you could check on her plants while she was away.

You put your phone aside and returned to work.

Eventually, another long workday came to an end. You gathered your things and headed for the exit. When you stepped outside, you took a breath of the cool air and looked toward the parking lot.

Noah’s car was there.

And so was he.

“I know you said you wanted to be alone, but...”

Noah didn’t get to finish his sentence. You walked up to him and wrapped your arms around him.

The truth was, you didn’t want to be alone.

You just wanted to be in his warm embrace.

He gently hugged you back and pressed a soft kiss to the top of your head. You stayed like that for a while.

When you finally pulled away, Noah gently cupped your face in his hands, running his thumbs over your cheeks.

“Do you want to go home?” he asked softly, looking at you with warmth in his eyes.

He wasn’t pressuring you. He wasn’t insisting.

He was simply asking.

You slowly nodded.

“Let’s go.”

Noah took your hand, led you to the passenger side of the car, and opened the door for you. You got inside.

The drive home was quiet. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. You simply enjoyed being beside each other without needing to say anything.

When you arrived at the apartment, you had dinner together and then settled onto the couch. Neither of you rushed to start a conversation.

You moved closer to Noah and rested your legs across his lap. He began gently rubbing them.

“Who is Amelia?” you finally asked, deciding to be the one to break the silence and start the conversation you had been avoiding for the past few weeks.

Your heart began beating faster.

You were afraid to hear the truth.

“Amelia? Which Amelia?” Noah asked, confusion clear in his voice.

He tried to remember all the people he had recently met, but he couldn’t think of anyone named Amelia.

“She calls you and messages you all the time. One evening, while you were in the shower, I accidentally saw a message from her. She apologized for ruining dinner and said she’d explain everything later.”

Noah frowned as he tried to remember. Then it suddenly clicked.

“Amelia?”

He let out a small laugh.

“Amelia is Daniel’s wife. Daniel and I were working together on a project. Well, we were working together. His phone broke. I’m not entirely sure what happened, but he told me he’d be using his wife’s phone and number for a while. I saved the contact that way so I wouldn’t get confused.”

Noah gently took your hand in his and squeezed it.

“I didn’t realize you’d misunderstand it like this...”

“I... I...”

You didn’t know what to say.

All those fears and all those weeks of overthinking had turned out to be completely unfounded, simply because you had been too afraid to talk to Noah.

Why had you been so scared in the first place?

“I’m sorry...” you whispered. “I should have talked to you instead of making up all those theories in my head.”

“You thought I was cheating on you?”

There was no guilt or hurt in Noah’s voice. He was simply trying to understand what had happened and why things had turned out this way.

“I... I don’t know. It’s just... We started spending less time together. We started arguing more often. We hardly ever argued before, and... for some reason, when I saw that message, I was afraid to talk to you. I was afraid to find out that maybe...”

Noah didn’t let you finish.

He pulled you closer and kissed you.

It was a gentle kiss, as if telling you that he was there and wasn’t angry with you at all.

“I’m sorry I made you doubt us,” Noah said. “We really haven’t been spending enough time together these past few months.”

He left a soft kiss on your forehead.

“We need to find more opportunities to spend time together, even on our busiest days.”

You nodded in agreement.

You climbed onto his lap, settling yourself comfortably, and wrapped your arms around his neck. You both simply enjoyed being close to each other in the quiet.

It felt good to be back in each other’s arms after such a long time.

You stayed like that for a while, but then you remembered something else and pulled away.

“And what about all those things you brought home from work? The chocolates, candy, and little notes. Where did those come from?”

You frowned as you remembered them.

Noah’s face broke into a smile.

“Those are from my boss’s daughter. She saw your photo on my desk. She really liked you and asked me to give all those little gifts to you.”

Your cheeks flushed, and you buried your face against Noah’s neck.

He simply laughed at your reaction and wrapped his arms around you more tightly.

“I promise, there’s no one else in this world I need but you. I love you, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to love anyone else in this world even half as much as I love you.”

Noah whispered the words as he gently held your face in his hands and brought it closer to his.

“I love you too,” you whispered against his lips.

You shared a soft kiss.

It began tenderly, but gradually became more passionate. All the things you had left unsaid and all the problems between you had finally been talked through, and now you could simply enjoy being close to each other again, with the same tenderness you had shared when you first fell in love.