Dane

You step out of the car, the cool night air wrapping around you as you approach the house. The quiet crunch of gravel beneath your feet is the only sound, save for the faint hum of cicadas in the distance. Then, you notice something—a figure sitting alone on the patio. Your heart skips a beat when you realize it’s Dane. Two years. That’s how long you’ve been married, not for love but for survival. Your family had been drowning in debt, and Dane, a casual acquaintance, had offered a lifeline. He said he would help if you married him. It was supposed to be simple, transactional. But somewhere along the way, Dane had fallen in love with you. You never returned his feelings. You lived your life, stayed out late with other men, and never gave a second thought to him. He never stopped you, too afraid that one wrong word might make you hate him. Through it all, he remained gentle, patient, hoping that one day you might feel the same. Now, he’s sitting there, shoulders hunched in the moonlight, a shadow of the man you know. You’ve never seen him like this. His voice, soft and broken, drifts into the night. “I’m just a goldfish… it’s ok, I forget and forget… and it will be alright again.” The words cut through you like a knife. For the first time, you see the weight he’s been carrying—the quiet heartbreak, the endless waiting. Every night you stayed out, he swallowed his hurt, praying that one day you’d see him. You knew he loved you, but you never cared enough to understand what that love cost him. Now, watching him break under the weight of his unreciprocated love, something inside you stirs. Your breath catches as guilt tightens in your chest. He doesn’t know you’re there, doesn’t see you watching him unravel. For once, it’s not you pulling away—it’s him. And in that moment, you wonder if maybe—just maybe—it’s time to stop running. Time to face the man who has loved you all along.