The warm, rich scent of freshly brewed coffee wafted through the air as Alina sat in the cozy nook at the back of the bookstore. The walls around her were lined with towering bookshelves, each one packed with colorful spines that promised worlds far removed from her own. For a moment, she let herself believe she was safe here, surrounded by the comforting quiet of whispered conversations and the distant hum of traffic from the street outside.
Sarah was nearby, skimming through a novel, giving Alina the space she needed to process. The bookstore café was a small oasis of calm, a refuge from the storm that had been raging inside her mind ever since she had seen Leon outside Sarah's apartment. Even here, though, the anxiety lingered beneath her skin, a constant hum in the background of her thoughts.
She stared down at her coffee cup, the steam curling into the air, disappearing before it reached the ceiling. Alina's fingers traced the rim of the cup absently, her thoughts drifting to the encounter with Leon. His face had been so full of pain, his voice desperate when he'd called out to her. For a fleeting moment, she had almost felt sorry for him. Almost.
But that feeling had been drowned by the fear that had gripped her the moment she saw him. The memory of his fists, the way his rage had consumed him, flashed in her mind like a terrible slideshow. She had loved him once, deeply, but the man she had seen that night—the man who had hurt her—was a stranger. A version of Leon she had never thought possible. And now, even though he was trying to apologize, trying to explain, she couldn't shake the fear that if she went back to him, that man would resurface.
He hasn't changed. That thought echoed in her mind, louder than all the others. She had to believe it, even if there was still a small part of her that wanted to believe otherwise.
"Hey," Sarah's voice pulled her from her thoughts. She looked up to see her friend standing by the table, holding a paperback novel in one hand, a soft smile on her lips. "You okay?"
Alina nodded quickly, though she wasn't sure how true it was. "Yeah, just... thinking."
Sarah sat down across from her, the concern in her eyes unmistakable. She didn't need to ask what Alina was thinking about—she already knew. It was all that had been on Alina's mind for days. Leon. The past. The mess of emotions she couldn't untangle.
"I know it's hard," Sarah said gently, her fingers tracing the cover of the book she had just picked up. "But it'll get better. I promise."
Alina wanted to believe her. She wanted to believe that there was a future where she didn't feel trapped by her memories of Leon, where she could move forward without looking over her shoulder, without fearing that he would find her again. But that future felt so far away, so impossible.
"I don't know what to do," Alina admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "It's like... I keep thinking that maybe he's really sorry, that maybe he's changed. But then I remember what he did, and I just..."
Her voice trailed off, and she wrapped her arms around herself, as though trying to hold her body together. She felt like she was falling apart, piece by piece, and no matter how hard she tried to stay strong, the cracks were starting to show.
Sarah reached across the table, her hand resting on top of Alina's. "You don't have to figure it all out right now," she said softly. "But you can't keep going back and forth like this. He's dangerous, Alina. You know that. You can't keep giving him chances."
Alina's throat tightened, and she nodded, even though the guilt gnawed at her insides. "I know. I just... I hate feeling like this. Like I'm stuck between who I used to be and... and what he's turned me into."
Sarah's expression softened, and she squeezed Alina's hand. "You're still you, Alina. You're stronger than you think. Don't let him define you."
The words were meant to comfort her, but Alina wasn't sure if they could. Leon had been such a huge part of her life for so long, and now, trying to imagine herself without him felt like trying to imagine a world without gravity. No matter how much she tried to separate herself from him, she always felt pulled back, tethered to him in a way that scared her.
Her phone buzzed in her bag, startling her out of her thoughts. Her heart leapt into her throat as she fumbled to pull it out, her fingers shaking slightly. When she saw Leon's name flash across the screen, her stomach dropped.
He was calling again.
Alina stared at the phone, her breath catching in her chest. For a moment, she considered answering. Maybe this time he would say something different. Maybe this time he would actually listen to her. But then, the memory of his hands on her—rough, unyielding—crashed through her mind, and her hand froze.
Sarah noticed the change in her demeanor immediately. "Is it him?"
Alina nodded slowly, her fingers hovering over the screen, unsure of what to do. She knew she shouldn't answer. She knew that talking to him wouldn't solve anything, that it would only drag her back into the cycle of confusion and fear she had been trying so hard to escape. But the temptation was still there. The small, fragile hope that maybe this time would be different.
"Don't," Sarah said firmly, her voice cutting through Alina's hesitation. "Don't answer. Block his number."
Alina swallowed hard, her throat tight with emotion. "What if he really is trying to change, Sarah? What if he's trying to make things right?"
Sarah's eyes hardened, and she leaned forward, her voice steady but filled with urgency. "Alina, you can't keep doing this. You can't keep hoping that he'll change. He hurt you. And that's not something you can just fix with a few phone calls or promises. You deserve better than this."
Tears welled up in Alina's eyes, and she blinked them back quickly, refusing to let them fall. Sarah was right. She knew that. But it didn't make it any easier to let go of the life she had once imagined with Leon. She had built her future around him, and now that future was crumbling, leaving her with nothing but the broken pieces of who she used to be.
Her hand trembled as she stared down at the phone, the ringing finally stopping, only to be replaced by the small notification of a missed call. She felt torn in two—one part of her wanting to cut Leon out of her life for good, and the other part terrified of what would happen if she did. What if she never felt that connection with anyone again? What if this was as good as it got?
"Block him," Sarah repeated softly, her voice gentle but firm. "It's time."
With a shaky breath, Alina nodded, her fingers moving to the screen. It felt like a small, final act of defiance, as though blocking his number would somehow sever the invisible thread that tied her to him. She scrolled through her contacts, her thumb hovering over his name.
And then, with one swift movement, she pressed the button.
Leon's name disappeared from her screen, replaced by the familiar blank space of her contact list. For a moment, Alina felt a strange sense of relief, like a weight had been lifted from her chest. But it was fleeting. The fear and uncertainty still lingered, whispering at the edges of her mind.
"Good," Sarah said, offering her a small, encouraging smile. "That's a step in the right direction."
Alina nodded, though her heart still ached. She knew it was the right thing to do. She knew she had to protect herself from falling back into the toxic cycle with Leon. But the pain of letting go, the pain of acknowledging that the man she had loved was gone—replaced by someone she no longer recognized—was almost unbearable.
The rest of the day passed in a blur. Alina and Sarah spent hours in the bookstore, browsing through shelves, flipping through pages of novels they didn't plan to read. It was a distraction, but even with the comforting atmosphere around her, Alina couldn't shake the feeling of dread that clung to her. She kept glancing at her phone, half expecting another call, another message, even though she knew she had blocked Leon's number.
By the time they returned to Sarah's apartment that evening, Alina felt drained. Her body ached with exhaustion, her mind heavy with the weight of everything that had happened. She collapsed onto the couch, her eyes staring blankly at the ceiling as Sarah moved around the kitchen, preparing a quick dinner.
The apartment was quiet, save for the faint sound of the stove and the hum of the refrigerator. It felt safe here, tucked away from the chaos outside. But Alina knew that safety was fragile. She knew that as long as Leon was out there, as long as he still believed he could fix things, that safety was an illusion.
She closed her eyes, trying to push the thoughts away. She needed rest. She needed time to think. But most of all, she needed to figure out how to move forward—how to break free from the hold Leon still had on her heart.
Because deep down, Alina knew the truth.
Leon wasn't going to give up that easily.