Chapter 3 – The Third Person

Ryan’s life started moving fast. Work was growing, and Olivia was always around him. She laughed at his jokes, praised him in meetings, and sent him messages late at night. Slowly, she became a part of his every day. He didn’t plan it. It just happened. But he forgot that every small moment with Olivia was taking him far away from Sophie.

Sophie still tried her best. She waited for his calls. Sometimes she wrote him long messages, telling him about her day, her designs, her dreams. Ryan replied with short words — “Nice,” “Good job,” “I’m busy.” She read those words again and again, wishing there was love inside them. But they felt cold. One night she whispered to herself, “I think I’m losing him.”

Olivia, on the other hand, started acting closer. She would say things that made Ryan smile. “You know, you work too much. You need someone who makes you happy.” Ryan laughed and said, “I already have someone.” She replied softly, “Maybe, but she’s not here.” He didn’t answer. He just smiled weakly. That silence said more than any words.

Sophie began to feel that her love was turning one-sided. She called him less, afraid of hearing another excuse. When they did talk, she spoke gently, but he sounded distracted. One evening, she asked, “Do you still love me the same?” Ryan stayed quiet for a moment. Then he said, “Of course I do.” But his tone didn’t match his words. Sophie said softly, “Sometimes, your silence feels louder than your voice.” He said nothing after that.

Olivia liked how easily Ryan’s eyes looked for her now. She started playing small games with him. She told him about her past, her heartbreak, her loneliness. She made him feel needed. And Ryan liked being needed. He told himself it was just friendship, but deep down, he knew Sophie would never understand this. So, he started hiding it.

One afternoon, Olivia touched his hand while talking. Ryan didn’t move away. He laughed nervously and said, “You’ll get me in trouble.” She smiled and said, “Maybe trouble is what you need.” That line stayed in his mind all night. He looked at his phone many times, thinking about calling Sophie, but didn’t. He just stared at Olivia’s last message, “You’re special.”

Sophie began to change too. She stopped smiling the same way. Her mother asked, “Is everything okay?” She nodded, pretending all was fine. But her eyes told a different story. When her friends talked about love, she stayed quiet. Every night before sleeping, she scrolled through her old messages with Ryan. She stopped at one message that said, “Forever.” A tear rolled down her face. She whispered, “Was forever this short?”

Days turned into weeks. Ryan and Olivia were seen together more often. Some of his friends noticed and said, “Be careful.” But he ignored them. He thought he could handle it. He didn’t know he was already falling into something that would destroy his peace.

One evening, Sophie called him again. Her voice was soft but tired. “Ryan, can we meet tomorrow? I just need to see you.” He said, “I’ll try. There’s a lot at work.” She waited for a yes, but it didn’t come. After the call, she wrote in her diary, “I don’t think he’s mine anymore.”

A few days later, Sophie opened her social media and saw something that froze her. A picture of Ryan and Olivia at a café. They were sitting close, smiling. The caption said, A perfect day. Her hands shook. Her heart broke in silence. She didn’t cry loudly. She just stared at the photo until her eyes burned. She whispered, “You promised me forever, Ryan.”

That night, Ryan came home and saw Sophie’s last message on his phone — Take care. He didn’t understand what it meant. He thought she was just upset. He didn’t know that she had already decided to walk away quietly.

Ryan’s heart still loved Sophie, but his actions didn’t. He thought he was just lost in work, but he was lost in someone else’s shadow. And Sophie — she was breaking quietly, holding her pain like a secret.

Love doesn’t always end with a fight. Sometimes, it ends with silence. And between Ryan and Sophie, that silence had already started growing.