"All I ever wanted was for you to look at met he way you look at Arthur."

~•~

When they returned from Austria to Nice, the atmosphere between Haydée and Hugo was heavy and tense. The journey home was silent, without the usual attempts at conversation or shared laughter. Hugo sat the entire time with his gaze fixed out the window, while Haydée replayed the events of the past few days in her mind, especially that kiss with Arthur. She knew something was wrong, that this journey back was more than just physical—it was a journey to an inevitable conversation that had to happen. Hugo couldn't see it; he was far from them when they returned. But the Frenchwoman knew she had to talk and finally resolve her feelings.

When they arrived home, Hugo stopped in the living room before Haydée could even take off her shoes. He stood there, running his hands over his face, and then turned to her. His eyes were serious, filled with something that immediately seemed heavy and sad to her.

"We need to talk," he said in a quiet but resolute voice.

Haydée felt her heart clench. She knew this moment had to come, but it didn't ease her nervousness. She stood on the threshold of the living room and nodded silently. She sat down on the couch while Hugo remained standing.

"We've been together for three years," he began slowly, as if he needed to carefully consider each word, "but I feel like we've only really been together for one year. And the rest of the time, we've just been living together. Maybe it could be said that we've just been surviving."

Haydée sat still, unable to respond immediately. Hugo had never said anything like this before, but she knew he was right. It was that silent agreement that had hung between them all this time but had never been voiced until now.

"I still care about you, Hugo," she whispered after a moment, as it was the only sentence she could bring herself to say.

Hugo smiled sadly, as if he had expected exactly this answer. "And that's the problem, Hy," he continued softly. "You only care about me. But I'm not the one you truly love. There's someone you love more. And that someone had your love before I ever came along."

His words were direct, painful, but utterly true. Haydée didn't know how to react. Arthur was the one Hugo was talking about, even though he had never spoken his name aloud. He knew it. He saw it. And she couldn't escape it.

"I—"

Hugo interrupted her, his voice gentle but filled with resignation. "Sometimes I wish you looked at me the way you look at Arthur."

That was what crushed Haydée. Hearing this from Hugo, seeing the sadness and pain in his eyes that had been there all along, broke her heart. She knew Hugo was right, but she couldn't bring herself to tell him everything that was on her mind.

"I'm sorry," she whispered finally, but the words felt weak and insufficient. She didn't know what more she could say because the truth was sometimes unbearable.

Hugo sighed, leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes for a moment, as if trying to find any remaining patience or strength. When he spoke again, his voice was quiet, almost a whisper. "It was a complete lie when you told me you loved me, but I didn't care," he admitted without looking directly at her.

Haydée felt as if someone had knocked the breath out of her. She realized that their relationship had been built on an illusion that they had both maintained for so long because they were afraid to admit that what they had long lost its meaning.

"Hugo..." Haydée began again, but her voice broke. She didn't know what to say. The words that might have fixed their relationship seemed to slip away from her as if they didn't even exist. Every thought she tried to grasp dissolved before she could form it into a sentence.

Hugo interrupted her more gently this time, but his voice was firm, as if he already knew everything. "Hy, we can't keep pretending. I think we both know that." He looked at her with a pained expression that tore at her from within. Even with his calm tone, she felt something final in his voice, something that couldn't be taken back.

Haydée nodded without trying to resist. Tears were welling up in her eyes, which she tried to hold back, but she knew Hugo was right. Their relationship had been falling apart for a while, even though they both tried to maintain the illusion that everything could be as it once was. But deep down, she knew it couldn't go on like this.

She was about to speak again, perhaps to apologize in some way, when Hugo spoke unexpectedly. "I saw you," he said quietly, but his words hit her like an icy shower.

Haydée froze. "What?" she asked quietly, even though she was starting to suspect what he meant.

Hugo fixed his gaze on her, this time stricter but still wounded. "I saw you," he repeated. "You and Arthur. I saw him kiss you."

Haydée froze. His voice was quiet, but every word carried that deep pain. Suddenly, she realized that she could no longer deny anything. Hugo had seen what existed between her and Arthur, even though she herself hadn't wanted to admit it. Now it was out in the open, and everything had changed.

"It's not what it looks like," Haydée tried to find some words, but she immediately knew it sounded false.

"But it is," Hugo answered calmly, his gaze sad but resigned. "I've known for a long time, Haydée. I know there's something more between you and Arthur than you've ever admitted to me."

Tears began to stream down her face. She knew Hugo was right, and even though she tried to save their relationship, she realized it was no longer possible.

"It's not fair, Hugo," she whispered brokenly. "You deserve someone who will truly love you."

Hugo nodded and turned his gaze away. "And you deserve to be with someone you truly love."

They stood there in silence, surrounded by the empty apartment, knowing their relationship was over. Not because they wanted it, but because they had to. The truth that had been hidden for so long had finally come to light.

Hugo detached himself from the wall and approached Haydée, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "You'll be happy, Hy. Just not with me," he said softly and then went into their shared bedroom, leaving behind the empty space that once belonged to their relationship.

Haydée slowly sank to the floor. Once the bedroom door closed behind Hugo, her legs gave out and she lost her balance. She sat there on the cold floor, her back against the wall, her body trembling with quiet sobs. Tears streamed down her face, and her breath came in ragged gasps as she tried to hold back the flood of emotions surging within her. She stared into the emptiness. The silence in the apartment was deafening, interrupted only by the rustling from the next room. Hugo was packing his things. It was over.

It felt as though the weight of the world had suddenly crashed down on her. Hugo, who had been a part of her life for three years, was now gone. His presence, once a certainty, dissolved in the moment she realized it was too late. There was no way back. She knew it had to be this way—their relationship had been dead for a long time, but now that it was really happening, it was much harder than she had ever imagined.

She sat on the floor, curled up, her tears quietly dripping onto the wooden floor. Every sob that escaped her was full of pain, regret, and sorrow for what she had lost. All the tension and confusion that had been growing inside her for weeks now burst to the surface. With every deep breath, she felt the emptiness engulfing her more and more. She was alone. Hugo was packing his things, and she knew that once he left, it would mean the end of their shared story.

A soft knocking came from the next room. Haydée heard Hugo opening drawers and cupboards. The rustling of clothes, occasional footsteps, the sound of zippers and bags. Everything together sounded like preparation for departure, like an inevitable end. Every sound, every rustle, was a reminder that something was irrevocably changing.

She felt each sob draining her, as if each one was taking a piece of her strength. She wanted to do something, say something to break this inevitability, but there was nothing to say. There was nothing left to save. They were at the end, and they both knew it.

Hugo was still in the bedroom. Haydée heard him putting his things into bags, and with each sound, another wave of sadness built up within her. Each rustle of clothing was like another nail in the coffin of their relationship. Every movement he made was evidence that their lives, which had been intertwined for so long, were now separating. And she had no strength to stop it.

Through her tears, she didn't even realize how long she had been sitting there. She felt as if time had lost its meaning. Everything was blurred by the fog of emotions she couldn't control. Every thought revolved around how it could have ended differently, how it might have been if... if something had changed, if she had tried harder. But she knew she was just lying to herself. Their relationship had been doomed for a long time.

Suddenly, there was a louder noise from the bedroom, as if Hugo had slammed a suitcase or bag shut. The sound marked the end of packing, and perhaps the end of their shared life. Haydée inhaled, but the air in her lungs was heavy and she couldn't hold it. It was a moment she wasn't prepared for, even though she knew it had to come.

Hugo appeared in the living room, his bag slung over his shoulder. His face was as sad as hers. When he saw her sitting on the floor, he paused for a moment. Their eyes met, and a silence fell between them. It was a silence full of unspoken words, full of regret and understanding.

~•~