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If I Stayed | Christian Yu

Fanfiction

Aaliyah Morales is weeks away from marrying a good man. A man who loves her. A man who isn't Christian Yu. Christian- her childhood best friend, the boy who grew up beside her, the artist whose name now lights up billboards, the one she never quite...

#almostlovers #christianyu #dpr #dprian #drama #fanfiction #firstlove #friendstolovers #healing #ifistayed #kdrama #khiphop #korean #kpop #kpopfanfic #losangeles #lovetriangle #mentalhealthmatters #music #newstory #romance #secondchances #undiscovered #undiscoveredgem #weddingdrama

CAPTER TWENTY - THE TRUTH

Start from the beginning 
                                        

                                                  
But the weight of that night?
Still there.
Still in his chest.
The door creaked open behind him.
He didn't look.
He didn't need to.
She stood beside him, arms crossed.
They didn't say anything at first.
Then, after a beat;
"You okay?" she asked, quiet.
His jaw tightened.
Shoulders stiff.
"I'm fine."
She didn't buy it.
Didn't push.
Just looked up at the sky like he had, letting the silence settle.
Another beat.
Then her voice again, softer, more careful:
"Maybe you should go home. Rest. You look... tired."
"Don't—" he snapped, voice sharp and too quick.
She flinched—just a little.
His face fell.
He turned away, hand over his mouth like he could take it back.
"Shit. Sorry. That wasn't... God, my swings are just..."
He couldn't finish.
Didn't know how to make it sound less ugly than it felt.
"I didn't mean to snap."
She nodded. Didn't move.
Didn't soften either.
Just looked at him.
Saw him.
"I know."
And for a second, that meant more than forgiveness.
Because she didn't pity him.
She just understood.
"You don't have to stay," he muttered, eyes anywhere but hers. "I get it. I wouldn't wanna be around me either."
She turned to him, brows drawn together, voice firm:
"Don't do that."
He blinked.
"Do what?"
"Punish yourself for something you didn't ask for."
The wind moved between them.
She stepped a little closer.
"You're allowed to have bad days, Christian."
He closed his eyes.
Inhaled.
Exhaled.
"Yeah, well... they always feel worse with you standing next to me."
She smiled, just a little.
Christian leaned forward, elbows on his knees, fingers trembling enough for him to feel it.
That moment after a swing, where guilt settles in like fog, thick and heavy.
Aaliyah didn't say anything.
She didn't need to.
She just watched as he pulled the orange pill bottle from his pocket and turned it in his palm.
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