One Night Stand (Olivia’s Final Decision)

The café buzzed around them, the scent of fresh coffee thick in the air. Olivia’s phone sat on the table between them, Alex’s messages glowing on the screen. She had been staring at them for too long.

Ethan didn’t say anything. He didn’t rush her. He just watched, waiting—giving her the space to decide for herself.

She exhaled sharply. “I can’t keep doing this.”

Ethan’s expression remained unreadable. “Doing what?”

“Living my life the way I think I’m supposed to,” she admitted, gripping the edge of the table. “Following a path that feels safe but doesn’t feel like me anymore.”

She looked up, and for the first time, she said the words out loud.

“I don’t think I can marry him.”

The admission left her breathless, as if she had been carrying something heavy for too long and had finally set it down.

Ethan nodded, but he didn’t celebrate or gloat. He just leaned forward, his voice steady. “Are you leaving him for you? Or for me?”

Her chest tightened. She had to be honest—with him, with herself.

“For me.”

A small, almost relieved smile tugged at his lips. “Good.”

She took a deep breath, picking up her phone. Her fingers hovered over Alex’s name.

Then, with a final inhale, she dialed.

It rang twice before he picked up. “Olivia—thank God. What’s going on? Where have you been?”

She closed her eyes. “We need to talk.”

Ethan stood, giving her space. She watched him walk toward the counter, his presence grounding her even as she let go of the life she once thought she wanted.

Maybe she and Ethan weren’t meant to last. Maybe this was just another beginning, another uncertain chapter.

But for the first time in years, Olivia wasn’t afraid of the unknown.

She was finally choosing herself.

One Night Stand (Olivia Walks Away from Both)

The café felt too small. The air too thick.

Olivia stared at her phone, at Alex’s desperate messages, at the weight of expectation pressing down on her. She looked up at Ethan, his steady gaze waiting, offering her something different—something unknown.

And for the first time in years, she realized she didn’t want to choose either of them.

She wanted to choose herself.

Her heart pounded as she took a deep breath and finally said it out loud.

“I can’t go back to him.”

Ethan didn’t look surprised. He just nodded, as if he had been expecting that. “And what about me?”

She hesitated, meeting his gaze.

“I don’t think I can stay with you, either.”

The words felt terrifying. But also freeing.

Ethan leaned back in his chair, exhaling softly. “I figured.”

“I don’t regret this,” she said quickly, not wanting him to think otherwise. “Last night, this morning… it was real. And I needed it. But if I stay, I’m just replacing one version of myself with another. And I don’t even know who I am yet.”

He studied her for a long moment, then gave a small, knowing smile. “Then go find out.”

Her chest tightened, but she smiled back. Because that was the thing about Ethan—he understood.

She stood, grabbing her bag. No dramatic goodbyes. No promises to meet again.

Just two people who had met at the right moment for the wrong reasons, and somehow helped each other anyway.

As Olivia stepped out onto the city street, she inhaled deeply, feeling lighter than she had in years.

For the first time, she wasn’t running to someone.

She wasn’t running from someone.

She was just walking forward—toward herself.

And that was enough.

THE END.

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