Episode 6: The Call He Couldn’t Ignore
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Daniel dropped the phone face down on the table like that would somehow erase what I had already seen.
But it was too late.
My chest tightened painfully.
Again?
I stared at him.
He avoided my eyes briefly before forcing a calm expression.
“It’s nothing.”
That sentence alone irritated me immediately.
People always say “it’s nothing” about the exact thing causing problems.
“If it’s nothing, why is she still calling you?”
Daniel exhaled quietly.
“She’s been trying to talk to me for weeks.”
“Weeks?”
I pulled my hand away slowly.
“You said you were keeping your distance.”
“I am.”
“Daniel, exes don’t repeatedly call men who have clearly moved on unless something is still open somewhere.”
His jaw tightened slightly.
“That’s not always true.”
“Then explain it to me.”
Silence.
I hated silence during serious conversations.
It always felt like truth hiding somewhere.
Daniel rubbed his forehead briefly before speaking.
“Vanessa is going through some issues.”
I folded my arms immediately.
“What kind of issues?”
“She lost her fiancé.”
My anger paused for half a second.
“What?”
“They broke up months ago.”
I blinked slowly.
“And now she suddenly remembers you?”
“That’s not fair.”
“It’s very fair!”
My voice rose before I could stop it.
“Daniel, do you know how this looks from outside?”
He became quiet.
I stood up from the couch because suddenly sitting beside him felt emotionally dangerous.
“So what exactly does she want from you?”
“She says she wants closure.”
I laughed softly in disbelief.
“Closure after four years?”
“Ada…”
“No seriously, Daniel. What kind of closure requires late-night calls and showing up at your apartment unexpectedly?”
He stood up too now.
“I didn’t invite her.”
“But you still care enough to pick her calls.”
His expression hardened slightly.
“She was part of my life for years. I can’t behave like she’s a stranger dying on the street.”
That sentence hurt more than it should have.
Not because he was wrong.
But because it reminded me that love leaves permanent fingerprints.
No matter how much people move on.
I looked away quickly before my emotions embarrassed me.
Then quietly, I asked:
“If she asked for another chance… what would you do?”
The question hung heavily between us.
Daniel stared at me for a long moment.
Then he answered firmly.
“I’m with you.”
That should have comforted me.
Instead, my stupid heart searched his face for hesitation anyway.
Trauma is wicked like that.
Even reassurance starts sounding suspicious.
Daniel noticed immediately.
“You don’t believe me.”
“I’m trying to.”
He sighed deeply and sat back down.
For the first time since meeting him, he looked emotionally exhausted.
“You know what hurts?” he asked quietly.
I stayed silent.
“No matter what I do, it feels like I’m being punished for having a past.”
That sentence hit me unexpectedly.
Because honestly…
Wasn’t he right?
Before me, he had a whole life.
A whole relationship.
Real love.
Real pain.
Real history.
And maybe I had started unconsciously competing with a ghost.
Daniel looked up at me again.
“I’ve never hidden the fact that I dated before.”
“I know.”
“But I chose you.”
Something about the sincerity in his eyes made my anger weaken slightly.
Then his phone buzzed again.
This time longer.
Persistent.
Daniel glanced at it and cursed under his breath.
I folded my arms.
“Aren’t you going to answer?”
He hesitated.
Then surprisingly, he handed me the phone.
“See for yourself.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“Read the messages.”
I stared at him suspiciously before slowly taking the phone.
The messages were open already.
Vanessa:
Please just answer me.
Another one:
I’m not trying to cause problems.
Another:
I just need someone to talk to.
Then the last message:
My mum has been admitted again and I honestly don’t know who else to call.
I froze.
The anger inside me shifted immediately into confusion.
Daniel spoke softly.
“Her mother has kidney issues.”
I looked up slowly.
“She used to handle everything alone,” he continued quietly. “Even when we dated.”
My chest felt strange suddenly.
Because now the situation no longer looked like simple ex-girlfriend drama.
It looked messy.
Human.
Complicated.
And unfortunately… real life usually is.
I handed the phone back slowly.
“So why didn’t you explain properly from the beginning?”
Daniel laughed weakly.
“Because every explanation involving an ex sounds guilty automatically.”
Honestly?
He wasn’t entirely wrong.
I sat back down quietly, emotionally drained.
Then after a long silence, I asked the question still bothering me most.
“Do you still love her?”
Daniel looked at me immediately.
“No.”
The answer came too fast to sound rehearsed.
But I still asked quietly:
“Not even a little?”
He held my gaze carefully.
“I care about her as someone I once shared part of my life with.”
That honesty somehow hurt and comforted me at the same time.
Then he added softly:
“But the person I’m in love with now is you.”
My eyes dropped immediately because my chest suddenly felt too full.
For a while, neither of us spoke.
The rain started falling lightly outside again.
Soft.
Steady.
Peaceful.
Then Daniel said something unexpected.
“You don’t have to decide about moving in now.”
I looked up slowly.
“Or next month. Or anytime soon.”
“You mean that?”
“Yes.”
He smiled faintly.
“I’d rather build something slowly with certainty than rush something beautiful and damage it.”
That sentence settled somewhere deep inside me.
Maybe because it removed the pressure.
Maybe because it sounded mature.
Or maybe because for the first time since this whole issue started…
I stopped feeling like I was standing at a crossroads where one wrong step would destroy my future.
Then quietly, Daniel asked:
“Can I tell you something honestly?”
I nodded.
“I think your friends are trying to protect you the best way they know how.”
That surprised me.
“You’re not angry at them?”
“No.”
He smiled slightly.
“They love you.”
The rain became heavier outside.
And somehow, sitting there beside him, listening to the storm…
I realized something important.
The real question was no longer whether moving in with him would guarantee marriage or heartbreak.
Because nothing in life comes with that guarantee.
The real question was this:
Was I willing to trust someone enough to build something real… even knowing it could someday hurt?
And honestly…
I still didn’t know the answer.
