The café was quieter than usual
Sunlight filtered through the glass like a slow memory
and Lia could feel it
the heaviness in the air
like something unsaid was finally ready to arrive
Arven sat across from her
fingers toying with the rim of his cup
but his eyes—those eyes—kept coming back to her face
as if memorizing her all over again
"You're quiet today," Lia said softly
He looked up
half-smiling
"I'm always quiet when I don't know how to begin"
She tilted her head
"You began last night"
"Last night was remembering," he said
"Today feels more like… facing"
Lia's brows pulled together
but before she could ask what he meant
the bell above the café door rang
And someone stepped in
A woman
tall
elegant
with storm-colored eyes
and confidence that clung to her like perfume
She paused at the entrance
her gaze sweeping across the room until it landed—stilled—on Arven
Lia felt it
like a thread tightening in her chest
Arven stood slowly
not with panic
but with familiarity
and something like regret shadowing his face
"Lia," he said, his voice careful
"This is Sienna"
The name hit harder than she expected
not because it was unfamiliar
but because he'd never said it before
not once
not even in the letters
Sienna walked toward them with measured grace
Her heels barely made a sound
but her presence was thunder
"Arven," she said, with a tone that only people who used to know your body could use
"You disappeared again"
He nodded once
"I'm sorry"
Sienna turned her eyes to Lia
And smiled
beautifully
with precision
"You must be the one from all the unsent poems"
Lia didn't blink
but her voice was steady
"And you're the one who stayed while he couldn't forget me"
There was a beat of silence
followed by the faintest curve of Sienna's lips
"I see he still likes women who speak in wounds"
Arven stepped between them slightly
"Sienna, this isn't the time"
"No?" she said
"But it's always the time for you to run from things, isn't it?"
Lia stood slowly
"Arven, who is she really?"
Sienna answered instead
"I'm the woman he almost married"
And just like that
the room went still
the way everything does just before it shatters
Lia blinked
"Married?"
Arven looked at her
eyes wide
voice low
"It wasn't like that—"
"Then explain it," Lia said
not loud
but sharp
Arven swallowed
"I was with her after you left
When I thought you'd never come back
It started as comfort
Then time passed
And suddenly I was in a life I didn't ask for
I didn't mean to lead her on"
"You proposed," Sienna cut in
"You wore the suit
You said yes when my father asked if you'd take care of me"
Lia stepped back
"Did you mean it?"
Arven didn't speak for a moment
then whispered
"I meant it the way broken people mean promises they don't understand"
Lia's breath caught
"But you never told me"
"Because I didn't want it to matter," he said
"I wanted us to have a clean start"
"You don't get to erase the blood and call it a blank page, Arven," she said
"You should've told me the truth"
Sienna folded her arms
"For what it's worth
he never stopped writing your name in his sleep"
Lia looked at her
"Then why are you here?"
Sienna's expression softened
but not kindly
"Because I'm not the kind of woman who lets go without making sure he bleeds first"
Then she turned to Arven
and said with chilling calm
"I'm not here to take you back
I'm here to say goodbye properly
So you never get to say you didn't get the chance"
She left
without a glance back
The café felt emptier than before
like something had been stripped bare
Lia didn't sit back down
She just looked at Arven
"You should've told me"
"I was afraid," he said
"That it would ruin whatever we were rebuilding"
"It ruined it anyway"
"Lia…"
She shook her head
"I need space"
He reached for her
but she stepped back
not in anger
but in heartbreak
"Every time I start to believe you again
something reminds me why I stopped"
She walked out
this time
not running
just leaving
Because some heartbreaks
don't need shouting
just silence deep enough to echo the truth
---
Siap kita lanjutkan Bab 9 dengan konflik yang lebih panas, emosional, dan penuh tensi yang bikin pembaca nggak bisa berhenti scroll
Cerita akan kita buat tetap romantis dan pedih tapi mulai memunculkan ancaman baru—baik dari masa lalu maupun dari seseorang yang bisa mengguncang hubungan Lia dan Arven
--
Arven couldn't sleep
The image of Lia's eyes across the café table was still burned into his memory
Not because they looked the same
But because they didn't
They looked like someone who had tasted too much silence and learned how to carry it
And now she was back
But silence didn't leave without a trace
He was about to text her
Just a simple goodnight
But his phone buzzed before he could type
Unknown Number:
You think you can hide from your past, Arven?
He stared at the message
Hands suddenly cold
Then another one came
Unknown Number:
She doesn't know everything, does she?
Arven froze
He hadn't told Lia everything
There were things
Moments
That didn't belong in poems or long walks by the river
Mistakes he made when she was gone
Things that wore someone else's perfume
His heart pounded
but not with love this time
with fear
---
The next morning
Lia was halfway through her coffee when the waitress brought a note to her table
"Guy said he didn't want to bother you
Just asked me to give you this"
She unfolded the paper
I had to leave town for the day. Don't worry.
There's something I need to fix.
It wasn't signed
But she knew the handwriting
It was Arven's
And suddenly
The quiet café felt less warm
---
Meanwhile, two towns away
Arven stood in front of an old building with peeling paint
Inside was a memory he thought he'd buried
She opened the door before he could knock
Tall
Black leather jacket
Red lips
The kind of woman who never forgot how much power silence had
"Didn't think you'd come," she said
"I need you to stop," Arven replied, voice firm
"Oh sweetheart," she purred
stepping closer
"Don't act like I wasn't part of your life when she left you to rot"
"That was a mistake"
"Which part?" she asked, voice low and taunting
"Sleeping with me
or thinking you could erase me?"
He didn't answer
Because both were true
"You never told her about me," she continued
"Not even a whisper of my name"
"I won't let you ruin what I just got back"
She smiled
but it wasn't kind
"I'm not here to ruin anything, Arven
I'm just reminding you
People like you don't get clean slates
Not when they leave bodies behind"
---
Back in town
Lia was pacing her apartment
Something didn't feel right
The note
The tone
The sudden disappearance
She called his number
No answer
Then she got a message
From an unknown contact
A screenshot
It was a photo
Blurry
Clearly taken through a glass window
It showed Arven
standing in front of a woman she didn't recognize
Her hands on his chest
His head bent down
too close
The caption read:
"This is who he runs to when you're not enough."
Lia stared at the screen
Her body froze
and for a second
the world tilted
Was it recent
Or an old memory?
Was this the past Arven hadn't told her?
She wanted to scream
to throw the phone
to forget she ever cared
But instead
she typed just five words
"Is there something I should know?"
---
she didn't go inside
not yet
even though the door was unlocked
even though the keys were in her hand
something in her chest
told her
this wasn't over
Arven was still there
down the steps
hands in pockets
eyes on the sky
like it was the only thing that ever stayed still
so she turned
and walked back down
slow
like walking toward something she didn't want to lose twice
you forget something
he asked
voice low
no teasing
just warm
no
she said
quiet
I just don't want to wake up tomorrow
and realize this was only in my head
he nodded
not like he had an answer
but like he understood
same
he said
every night you weren't here
I woke up looking for you
in dreams
in shadows
in the empty side of my bed
she looked at him
really looked
and behind the quiet of his words
she could feel it
how deep the cut was
how raw it still stayed
did you hate me
she asked
his eyes didn't waver
more than that
he said
I hated myself for still loving you
the rain started again
not heavy
just that soft kind of drizzle
that feels more like memory than weather
but they didn't move
you remember the second letter
she asked
the one you never sent
he said
yeah
I read it anyway
his smile was crooked
but honest
how
she whispered
because I knew you
he said
I knew what you'd write
I knew you'd still wear my sweater
even when someone else kissed your shoulder
her breath caught
and she didn't bother hiding it
I wanted to forget
she said
I tried
so did I
he answered
but the only things you forget
are the ones you never meant to keep
they stood there
in the hush between raindrops
not moving
not fixing anything
just bleeding the truth
finally
did you love her
she asked
meaning the girl after her
the one who got the pieces
I loved who I thought she was
he said
but I was looking for you in her laugh
and it never sounded the same
that's not fair
Lia said
but her voice broke
because it was
I know
he said
there was silence again
but this time it felt different
not like absence
more like pause
like breath held
before something changes
I ruined us
she said
no
we did
he replied
together
quietly
until nothing was left but noise and space
she stepped closer
close enough to see his lashes wet with rain
close enough to feel her chest ache
Arven
she whispered
if I run again
will you chase me
no
he said
firm
gentle
I won't chase you
I'll wait
until you realize
you were never supposed to run alone
her lips parted
but no sound came
just breath
just everything she didn't say the first time she left
he looked at her
with that look
the one that saw everything
and still stayed
you said once
that I was your fire
she whispered
but I only ever burned you
he shook his head
you were fire
he said
but you were also the light
and I needed both
to find my way back
she wanted to kiss him
god she wanted to
but something in her
needed to believe in more than just the heat
so she just stood there
letting the moment hold them
until he reached out
not to grab
not to pull
just to let his fingers touch hers
barely
I'm scared
she said
me too
he whispered
and that was enough
for now
because sometimes
the beginning of everything
sounds a lot like the end of the silence