Three years.
Three years with Nova Rae Blackwell—the only woman I ever wanted to be something better for.
The one girl who made me want to slow down, fix the broken parts, be a man worth holding onto.
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But man, the pressure?
It’s like carrying a weight made of glass.
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Every day, I try to be perfect for her—perfect in the way she deserves.
Not the angry, broken guy she met.
The guy who snaps, who pushes, who’s got all these scars she never asked to see.
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But the harder I try, the more it feels like I’m just digging myself deeper.
Like there’s this voice in my head whispering: You’ll never be enough.
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I started lying to her.
Little lies at first—late nights at work, meetings that never happened.
Then the big ones.
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The first time coke touched my lips, it felt like control. Like a way to silence the noise inside my head—the expectations, the fear, the self-doubt.
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It was a mistake.
A dark, twisting mistake.
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But the harder I fought, the more I fell.
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And the cheating… God, the cheating was worse.
Not because I didn’t love Nova—because I do. More than anything.
But because I was broken, and I didn’t know how to say it.
So I ran.
Ran into someone who didn’t know the weight I carried.
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The nights I came home late, smelling like sin and regret, I watched her from across the room.
Trying to convince myself she’d never see the cracks forming in the man I was supposed to be.
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She deserved better.
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I deserved better.
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But right now?
I’m just a man lost in the chaos of trying to hold it all together.
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And I’m scared that when the truth comes out—when she finally sees what I’ve done—it’ll all be gone.
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The love.
The trust.
The us.
She walked in too quiet.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7bacz0JMMi
Too steady.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbSxsto1RF
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Nova’s never been the silent type—unless she’s loading a bullet behind her eyes.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuqeOT3CZBB
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She didn’t sit. Didn’t yell.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxVDGHVJLU
Just stood there in front of me, her jaw locked like she was keeping herself from screaming.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAMumfLNDle
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She placed her phone on the table between us, screen-down.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ZY3Bxwno6
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“You been cheating on me, Saint?”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡddU6MHGig2
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I leaned back on the couch, like that could put space between me and what I already knew was coming.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj94EMdeJii
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“What?” I let out a low laugh. “Nova, c’mon. You really believe that?”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97IReZOc4c
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She didn’t blink.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZaZNh2zyPt
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“Tell me again.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQjANDqCHFC
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“I’m not cheating. You’re being insecure.” I shrugged. “You overthink everything, and now you’re dragging this sh*t up outta nowhere.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQ3ZXO4ou2
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She slid the phone across the table and tapped the screen.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWdLM5o8ckR
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“Play that.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWC8aPfak0A
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I hesitated.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVbgPzkufBV
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“Play. It.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8oULoqocCO
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I picked it up. Tapped the audio file.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkq6aWDLBiV
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And there it was—my voice. Clear as day.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVrbSvVvwnn
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“She’s wild, but I like it. Keeps things interesting. Like, she’s beautiful, sure—but it’s the chaos that makes it exciting.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNZAADRuTZ1
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Then laughter.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOhurfw4ceW
A woman’s voice, smug and flirty.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYI4ThQ6Kd5
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“So you stay with her ‘cause she’s crazy?”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe0yZ63ViCE
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And me again.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzfcOe3EdZB
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“She needs me. That’s the thing. Girls like her always crash eventually—and I’ll be the one she runs back to.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxrZSHJBITk
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I locked eyes with Nova. My heart hit the floor.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU50hGLwAW1
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“It wasn’t like that,” I started, throat dry.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAyMWLGRJ2r
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“No?” she asked, voice shaking. “Then what was it like, Saint?”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN6AM2Qz47m
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“I was just… talking. Trying to get her to leave me alone. You know how people twist things—”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡftdHHHiuac
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“Those were your exact words. I didn’t twist a damn thing.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaGClirB12e
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I stood, hands clenched. “You’re overreacting—”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzyCrisjFRV
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“No, I’m reacting exactly how I should.” Her voice cut like glass. “You let another woman lie next to you and feed off pieces of me—our relationship. You didn’t just cheat. You degraded me.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk6hbSF3ELk
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I stepped closer. “Nova, please. You know that’s not what I meant—”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZdVa3oCPhA
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“But it’s what you said.” Her eyes were glassy, but not from tears—just restrained fire.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo43WbUYmUY
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“You called me wild. Broken. Chaotic.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhGXuEwrDB3
She paused. “And you said you liked it. Like I was some kind of pet project that makes you feel alive when your own soul is dead.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrCKMBBWdrk
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I shook my head, heat rising to my ears. “I messed up. I know that. But you don’t get to paint me as a villain for one slip-up—”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡquZ1qtICDe
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“Slip-up?” she whispered, stepping in close.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQbg5MBfOs0
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“You don’t get to tell the world I’m a beautiful disaster and expect me to still hold you like you’re my peace.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYAMYfFEtdG
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“I love you, Nova.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnzfem56dQl
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She flinched. Just a little. Then:29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXlr89wTNH4
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“No. You love the control. You love the idea of me needing you.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKMDrlzuW5
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I reached for her wrist. She pulled away.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4sCresTZn1
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“I loved you like you were oxygen. You loved me like I was fire—you liked the burn, but never wanted to get too close.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFO7uLCG1DI
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The silence hit harder than any slap.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRLsNr2wkO0
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She turned to leave, but stopped at the door.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD7OCI7Ef6c
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“Next time you lie to someone about me, Saint—make sure they don’t record it.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7OW1PCFwAw
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Door slammed.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRtiPRDCaay
And I was left with her voice echoing in my head.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6I2x1TFSs7
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Not the one on the tape.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqpzx8MZ56C
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The one that finally decided she was done.
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