Chapter 190: The Continuous Misunderstanding
"I don’t know what happened," Naomi said for the third time that afternoon. "But whatever it is, you can’t just keep it all to yourself. Lunara—"
"I’m not asking you to fix it," Lunara cut in gently. Her voice didn’t rise. If anything, it had grown smaller. "I just... needed to say it out loud. Just once."
Naomi sighed, folding her arms. "You think I’m not dying to grab Eryx by the collar and yell at him? Because I am."
Lunara gave a sad laugh, shaking her head. "Please don’t."
"You can’t be serious."
"I am." Her gaze dropped to her lap. "I don’t want him to come to me because you pushed him, or because someone guilted him into checking on me. I want him to come because he wants to. Even if it’s just to say it’s over."
Naomi’s eyes softened. "But that would hurt more."
Lunara nodded. "Yes. But at least it would be real."
Silence fell between them again, only the low hum of the café filling the space. Lunara wrapped her palms around the cup of her now-lukewarm drink, her mind adrift. She hadn’t expected this conversation, hadn’t even wanted it but now that the words were out, she felt lighter. Not healed. Just... able to breathe.
"Thanks for listening," she muttered.
"Are you sure you don’t want me to ask Eryx what’s going on?" Naomi pressed, her voice softer now, more cautious.