Page 110 of Hidden Echoes

And I’m not complaining.

But deep down, I still expected a different reaction.

Still, we’re fine. More than fine, really. I mean, we’re working on ourselves—individually, mostly. It’s not that we’re not trying, it’s just that we’re doing it in our own spaces, with our own rhythms.

Zane is more in his head than he’s ever been, and I’m still a little lost in the world, trying to make sense of the person I’m becoming. But somehow, in these separate little corners, we're still healing. It’s messy, though.

It’s not this neat, perfect progress people love to talk about on TikTok. You know the ones, those trends where people speak about “healing together” with all these perfect little quotes and aesthetic background music.

It’s not like that for us. It’s more like... we’re both walking around trying to find our way back to each other without knowing if we’ll even recognize what we had when we do. But we keep going, because, I guess, in the end, it’s the effort that matters more than the perfect result. We’re learning, little by little, that maybe we don't have to fix everything to be okay.

I guess that’s the real question, isn’t it? Should I really consider our relationship something real? The more time I spend in this small world, the more I wonder if maybe Carter was right.

Maybe Zane married me out of pity, out of some misplaced sense of obligation.

And the thought stings more than I care to admit. Because when I’m alone with my thoughts, I start to second-guess everything between us.

Was it ever about me, or just him trying to do the right thing?

Sometimes, I don’t even know if any of it’s real anymore. I catch myself questioning everything—like I’m watching my life from outside of myself, trying to make sense of the pieces, but they don’t fit the way they should.

It’s like I’m a spectator, a stranger in my own skin.

And I wonder if Zane sees it too.

The moments when I’m so distant, I feel like I’m not even there, like I’m just a reflection of someone else’s life, a shadow of who I used to be.

I wish I could stop obsessing over it. Over him. It's like my mind can’t let go of the idea of us, of the way things could be, if I could just let it all go and stop reading into every little thing.

But I feel so caught up in these spirals, these endless loops where everything feels wrong and confusing.

Maybe if I stop waiting for Zane to break, or for him to somehow admit what I’m too afraid to ask, maybe things would feel more real. More like they should be.

But here I am, tangled in these thoughts, unable to stop trying to piece everything together.

Ever since we talked about sex not being a priority in our relationship, we just let it happen.

We kissed, we spent hours talking about everything, but we never brought it up again.

Not because there was something missing between us—quite the opposite. It’s like Zane and I move on a unique frequency that’s impossible to explain.

We are not about desire. But that doesn’t mean it’s not there. It’s like a dormant volcano, hidden beneath the surface, quiet and still—waiting for the right moment, the right spark. It’s there, always simmering, but we’ve learned to keep it at bay, to focus on something deeper, something more.

We are about something different. Something I can’t even begin to put into words. It’s not passion, not the kind they write songs about or show in movies. It’s more like... an understanding, a bond that’s hard to describe. It’s the way we read each other’s silences, how we can exist in the same room without saying a word, yet still know exactly what the other is feeling.

“Are you hungry?” Zane asks as we enter the reception area of Charlie’s office, taking me out of my thoughts

I just shake my head, distracted. Charlie wants to see me in person after a year of online talk. And Zane wants to keep me sane, so here I am.

I sit down and pick up a fashion magazine, flipping through it without paying attention, when the door opens.

A girl walks in.

She has light brown eyes, short pink hair, and a face that looks like a porcelain doll. Her hair is tied back in a ponytail, with the bangs highlighting her brown roots in contrast with the vibrant pink.

She smiles when she sees Zane and approaches without hesitation.

“Who would have thought, you and I in Texas at the same time.”

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