Flowers.

Regina stayed longer than she should have, looking at the table he had sat earlier. Her gaze travelled to the door, now closed. Her mind replayed a memory like stuck radio.

"Damian, Damian D'Angelo"

There it was again, his voice. The way he spoke, his voice low but tone, but still sharp.

Then, another memory

"Mian"

"I call him that, and he gets flustered easily." Grace's voice rang in her ears.

How could this be? The names sounded familiar but,

Everything Grace had described about her boyfriend… he was the opposite.

Maybe, she was overthinking or reading into connections that weren't meant for her.

She sighed audibly, swallowing the thoughts. She took her purse and left after closing the shop behind her.

Morning came earlier than expected.

Damian went to work, just like always. But with a lighter heart.

"Chris, can a coffee comfort someone?" He blurted it out without giving it a thought.

Chris snapped his head towards him. It was a strange question. Especially coming from Damian.

"Depends on who's making it." His reply was measured.

"Why?"

"Maybe it stuck with me..." His reply lingered but the air had already shifted.

"How's your grandmother?" Chris inquired writing something in a file.

"Doctors said she fell into coma." His reply was blunt, again. Like he forgot to turn on his emotions.

Chris's pen stopped moving for a second before writing again.

"I'll visit, been a long time I visited your family." Chris spoke eyeing Damian. Damian hummed in response. He didn't have anything to say. Not even to his own best friend.

Suddenly, his phone rang. He checked the caller ID - It was Grace. He frowned, she didn't call him these days. Not only that, but he stopped expecting her to. Nevertheless, he picked it.

"Damian" Her voice came, hesitant.

"Yes?" He sucked a breath before replying.

"Can you come over to the shop? I have something to talk." Her tone was firm but she paused before adding.

"It's important." She finishes before expecting a reply.

"I'll see if I can." He stated before hanging up.

That was all, their calls never lasted for more than a minute these days. Oftentimes they didn't even call. No one complained or was waiting someone to.

After few hours Damian was standing in front of Grace's flower shop. He took a deep breath before entering.

The bell rang again, but this time his mind was too fuzzy to acknowledge it.

Grace didn't turn to look at him. She kept fixing the flowers for the 10th time now.

"What is it you wanted to talk?" He asked uncertain.

"Do you feel it?" She finally looked at him. He tilted his head.

"The distance? We weren't like this before." She uttered. She didn't move from her place, neither he did.

"The only time you came to visit was my birthday. It feels like, It's been a long time we were in love." Her voice broke, even though she practiced this in her head for a lot of times.

"I-...can you speak clearly?" He sighed heavily.

"Damian.... I- I don't feel like we love each other anymore. We're too busy to give efforts in this relationship." Tears filled her eyes, but she refused to shed them.

"You too feel it, don't you?" He let out a small chuckle, not because it was funny, but because it wasn’t.

"You don't share anything with me anymore." She plucked a dead petal from a flower.

"I don't feel like it anymore. " He answered. He knew this conversation was heading somewhere sad, but he continued it anyway.

"Guess we're both pulling apart then." She remarked after a pause.

"I can't do this...I'm...I'm tired, Damian."

Her voice came heavier than expected

"I don’t know where it went wrong… but we both watched it happen." He admits, his hand brushed through his hair. A habit of his when he's frustrated.

"But I think there's nothing left to fix." She replied, her gaze remained on the flower.

"What do you mean, Grace?" It came almost instantly.

She finally looked at him, really looked.

"I don't think this can work out." She left a breath.

His eyes closed for a second, the words sunk in.

Silence filled between them before he broke it.

"Yeah, you're right. We....should end it." The words flew out his lips.

"Not because we're toxic but because, we… weren't what we thought we were.” He spoke after a pause.

Her tears finally fell, not only because she was sad. Because she finally said the truth that had been gnawing at her for nights. She nodded rapidly.

"Yeah..." She whispered.

"It's a break-up then."

"Um-hum, it's a break-up." She forwarded him a box. The same one he gave her on her birthday. The necklace.

"It doesn't belong to me anymore... I don't think it ever really did." She said quietly.

He took it, but didn't open it. He didn't need to, he already knew what was inside.

"No hard feelings then." She promised, her voice lighter than before.

"Yeah... No hard feelings." He agreed looking away.

He walks away without looking back. Just like he did many times before. But something was different this time. This time he was not just leaving, he was walking away from his past. His heart was neither heavy nor light, but it was definitely conflicted.

He came out of the shop. The same flower shop where it all started.

Back then, it had started with something as simple as flowers.

It had been raining heavily that day.

He had stepped inside the shop, hesitant.

His eyes fell on the girl who was making a bouquet.

The same hazel eyes, long brown hair... The same Grace. Except, she seemed lighter, calm.

"Can I get white lilies?" He spoke slowly as if his voice would disturb her. She looked up.

"Yeah, I'll pack them for you." Her voice felt like a soft blanket.

For a moment the sound of rain disappeared for him.

...----------------...

He glanced back at the shop. It was still same, bouquets placed nicely in a corner. A small lamp sat right beside the door. The shelves were neatly organized with color coded flowers. Except a frame hanging by the door caught his attention.

...'Let something beautiful begin here '...

The words stared back at him.

He looked away first.

...****************...

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