The days that followed were a blur for Maya. The conversation with Kian and Ivan had left her drained, caught in a whirlwind of emotions she couldn't seem to control. The tension between the three of them was palpable, like an invisible thread pulling tighter with every passing second. Maya knew she had to make a decision, but she wasn't sure if she was ready for what that decision might mean.
She found herself thinking about Kian more than she wanted to admit. The way his eyes softened when he looked at her, how his touch had once been a comforting anchor, grounding her in the chaos that had become their relationship. But at the same time, there was Ivan—unpredictable, intense, and somehow, deeply compelling. He had a way of making her feel alive, even in the darkest of moments. But the more she thought about him, the more she realized that their connection wasn't simple. It wasn't just passion or desire—it was something deeper, something that scared her more than she cared to admit.
Maya spent the entire afternoon walking around her apartment, trying to gather her thoughts, but they were all jumbled. The world outside seemed muted, as if the weight of everything she was going through had pressed down on the noise of the world. Even the sunlight felt dimmer, like a faint memory of something brighter.
She had tried to push away her feelings for Ivan, convinced that he was the source of all her confusion. But every time she thought about him, his voice echoed in her mind, calm and steady, like a tether to something she couldn't quite understand. And then there was Kian, with his quiet intensity, his soft vulnerability that had started to seep into the cracks of her own heart.
The doorbell rang, interrupting her thoughts. Maya wasn't sure what to expect, but she knew it had to be one of them. She opened the door without hesitation, only to find Kian standing there, his hands shoved in his pockets, his gaze uncertain.
"Maya," he said, his voice almost hesitant. "We need to talk."
She stepped aside, allowing him to enter, though she could feel the weight of her decision looming in the air between them. Neither of them spoke as he crossed the threshold. It wasn't until he sat down on the couch, his hands resting on his knees, that Maya finally broke the silence.
"About what?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady. "Because honestly, I don't even know what's going on anymore."
Kian ran a hand through his hair, looking frustrated. "I know. I feel it too. But I can't keep pretending like everything's fine when it's not."
Maya swallowed hard. "I know. I've been trying to figure this out, Kian. But I don't know what I want anymore. I don't even know what this...this mess is."
"I get that," Kian said quietly, his eyes not meeting hers. "But I can't keep dancing around this. You're either with me, or you're with Ivan. And I'm not gonna share you, Maya."
The words hung in the air like a challenge, like a line drawn in the sand that Maya wasn't sure she could cross. She felt a pang in her chest at the rawness of Kian's admission. He wasn't trying to control her—he was just trying to protect himself from the hurt. And Maya understood that, maybe more than she'd ever let on.
"I don't want to hurt you," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "But I don't know how to choose. It's not just about who I want—it's about what I feel. And right now, I feel... lost."
Kian's gaze softened, but there was a sadness in his eyes that Maya hadn't seen before. It was like he was finally letting his walls down, showing her the parts of himself he kept hidden. "I know you're not ready for this, but I can't keep pretending either. We can't keep going around in circles. We need to figure this out."
Maya nodded, tears threatening to spill over. "I don't know if I can choose between you two, Kian. It's not that simple."
"I know," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "But I need you to make a choice, Maya. Because if you don't, I don't know how much longer I can stand by and watch you walk away from me."
Maya closed her eyes, feeling the weight of his words pressing against her chest. She wanted to tell him that she wasn't walking away, that she just needed time to figure it out, but the truth was, she was afraid. Afraid of losing him, afraid of losing herself in the process.
"I need time," she said, her voice cracking. "I need time to think."
Kian didn't answer right away. Instead, he simply nodded and stood up, walking toward the door. But before he left, he turned to her one last time, his eyes locking with hers. "Just remember, Maya," he said softly, "I'm not gonna wait forever."
And with that, he left.
Maya stood frozen for a moment, feeling like the world had shifted beneath her feet. Kian was right—she couldn't keep putting this off. She couldn't keep pretending like everything was fine when it clearly wasn't. But how could she choose? How could she let go of one of them when each of them meant something different, something important?
Later that evening, Maya found herself sitting by the window, staring out at the darkened city skyline. Her mind was racing, and every thought seemed to lead to a dead end. Ivan. Kian. The two of them. The three of them. She had never felt so conflicted in her life.
Then her phone buzzed on the coffee table, snapping her out of her thoughts. She reached for it, her heart sinking when she saw the name on the screen.
It was Ivan.
Her fingers hovered over the screen, unsure whether she should answer. But before she could decide, the phone rang again, this time with a message.
"We need to talk."
Maya's chest tightened at the words, her pulse quickening. She had been avoiding Ivan, but deep down, she knew she couldn't keep running from the truth. He was part of this—part of the chaos, part of the connection, part of everything that had spun out of control in the last few weeks.
Sighing, Maya typed back a quick reply.
"When?"
The answer came almost immediately.
"Now."
Maya stood up, taking a deep breath. She didn't know what was going to happen when she saw him, but she knew one thing for sure: she couldn't keep putting this off. There was no more running from the mess she had created, no more avoiding the choices she had to make.
Tonight, she would face the consequences of everything that had happened—and everything that was about to happen.
The doorbell rang again. And this time, Maya wasn't sure if she was ready for what came next.