4.The Misunderstanding

People say you always remember the moment your heart breaks. They’re right. For me, it wasn’t loud or dramatic. It was quiet like the sound of a door softly closing.

It happened on an ordinary school morning. I was in class, pretending to read, when one of my friends leaned close and whispered, “Did you hear? Ethan proposed to someone from Section B.”

I laughed at first. “That’s not true,” I said. But my smile faded when I saw the look on her face she wasn’t joking.

Something inside me sank. I didn’t even know why it hurt that much. He wasn’t mine. We were just friends. That’s what I always told myself. But hearing those words Ethan proposed felt like the air around me had disappeared.

All day, I tried to act normal. I still smiled when people talked to me, still helped in choir practice, still laughed when I needed to. But inside, everything felt strange heavy, cold.

That evening, I saw him outside the church, talking to his friends. He looked the same easy smile, calm voice like nothing had changed. I wanted to walk up to him and ask, Is it true? But I couldn’t. What right did I have to ask?

I turned around and walked the other way.

At home, I sat by the window, watching the streetlights blur through my tears. I hadn’t even realized I was crying until the drops hit my hand. It didn’t make sense. We were never together. He never said he liked me. But I had always hoped quietly, secretly that maybe one day he would.

That night, I prayed, like I always did. But instead of words, it came out as silence. I didn’t know what to ask God for. I only whispered, “Please help me forget.”

The next few days, I avoided him. If he noticed, he didn’t say anything. Maybe that made it worse the fact that he seemed fine.

Everyone around me kept talking some said the girl said yes, others said it was just a dare. None of it mattered. The damage was already done.

I started calling him brother after that. It was easier that way. It sounded safe. It built a wall I could hide behind. Every time he smiled at me, I smiled back and said, “You’re like a brother to me.” The words tasted bitter, but they helped me survive.

Deep down, I missed how simple things used to be walking home together, teasing, laughing without fear. But once your heart breaks, even the smallest things start to hurt.

Sometimes I saw him looking at me like he wanted to say something. Maybe he wanted to explain. But I never gave him the chance. I was too scared to feel that pain again.

Weeks passed. The world didn’t stop for me, even though mine had cracked quietly inside. I learned to smile through it, to sing during choir, to study like everything was fine. But there were nights when I’d hear the church bells ring, and I’d remember his laughter. That’s when I’d cry again, quietly, so no one could hear.

Love, I realized, isn’t always about being together. Sometimes it’s about letting go without making a sound.

And even though I told myself I’d move on, a part of me still waited just in case everything I heard had been a mistake.

“I smiled and called him brother, even when every part of me wanted to call him mine. Maybe love isn’t what breaks you — it’s the silence that follows when you pretend you’re fine. 💔🌙”

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