The air in the room was thick with an uncomfortable stillness, as though the weight of everything left unsaid pressed down on your chest. It wasn’t just the silence, but the kind that left you gasping for air, desperate for something that would break the void between you and Sasuke. Five years. You had spent five long years by his side, and yet, standing here now, you’d never felt so completely alone. The man who once held you so close now felt miles away, even when he was standing right in front of you.

You watched him as he removed his tie, every movement precise, but empty. There was no tenderness, no acknowledgment of you in the way he moved—just cold, mechanical motions. It hit you then: the man who once held you, who used to pull you in without hesitation, now felt like a stranger. Something had broken between you, and the silence that hung in the air seemed to say more than either of you could.

Neither of you knew how to fix it—or even if it could be fixed.

He didn’t smile at you anymore—not like he used to. He didn’t share those rare laughs over silly things or press gentle kisses to your forehead when he thought you weren’t paying attention. Now, Sasuke had buried himself in work, using it as a fortress to shut you out. He left before the sun rose, never bothering to meet your gaze, and came home long after it had set. When he did come home, he just went through his routine, making you feel as though you weren’t even there for him to notice at all.

Tonight, though, you had dared to hope—just a small hope. You had made his favorite dishes, slaving away in the kitchen for hours, preparing each dishes, and clinging to the ridiculous belief that maybe this time, he would notice. That maybe this time, he would see you again.

You stood in the kitchen, feeling raw, exposed, a vulnerability you hadn’t allowed yourself to feel in months churning at your insides. You were desperate—for him, for something to pull him back, to salvage whatever was left.

“I made dinner,” you said, and you know how much emotion was contained in those two little words.

You gestured to the table, where the food sat untouched, waiting for him like you always had, like you always did.

Sasuke gave it a cursory glance. His palm rubbed the bridge of his nose, a motion you would eventually grow to detest as his gaze dropped down to the ground. It was his cue to cut you out of the conversation before it even started.

“I’m not hungry,” he muttered, as though his mind was already somewhere far from you.

Your chest clenched cruelly, but you bit back the flood of hurt that threatened to surge. “But I made it for you,” you murmured more softly this time.

“I’ve got work to do,” he replied sharply, cutting you off before you could even begin to argue.

Always work. The thought echoed in your mind. You couldn’t remember the last time he had chosen to be present with you. You tried to understand how important his work was, but to the point that he didn’t even bother to talk to you anymore? It stung more than you cared to admit—it feels as if he had forgotten how to make room for you in his life.

He turned away, moving toward his desk with that same cold efficiency, as if your attempt was merely an inconvenience he couldn’t be bothered with. Frustration boiled over within you, spilling past your defenses before you could rein it in. “It’s always work with you, isn’t it?” The words slipped out before you could stop them, the sharpness of your voice surprising even yourself. The silence that followed felt heavy, and you braced yourself for his reaction.

Sasuke’s body froze in its tracks as he was about to take a step, his muscles tensing as if he was prepared to take on it. He pivoted around to face you, his facial expression unchanging and his eyes darkened with impatience.

“What exactly are you insinuating with that statement?” He stood there, appearing edgy and on edge, waiting for your response.

Your heart pounded in your chest, hurt and rage swirling inside you. “It means you’re never here, Sasuke,” you said, your voice trembling with the weight of emotions you’d kept bottled up for so long. “You’re always somewhere else—always busy, always too tired. Do you even care anymore?”

His jaw tightened, the tension in his form evident as he cut in with a warning. “Don’t even start this again,” he said firmly, tone dripping with edges. “I’ve explained to you before, my work—”

“I’m sick of hearing about your work!” you snapped, your own frustration now bubbling over. “You hide behind it, Sasuke. It’s your excuse for everything. You’re shutting me out.”

“I’m not shutting you out. You’re the one who’s making this into something it’s not.”

“Something it’s not?” You could feel the tears beginning to well in your eyes, but you fought them back. You refused to let him see how much he was hurting you, how much this was tearing you apart. “We’re barely even together anymore! You come home late, you don’t talk to me, and when you do, it’s like I don’t even exist! How is that not shutting me out?”

“You think I don’t have enough on my plate?” he said quietly, his voice barely containing the anger simmering beneath the surface. “Do you even understand the kind of pressure I’m under?”

“And what about me?” you shot back, your voice rising despite yourself. “What about the pressure I’m under? To keep pretending that everything’s fine? To keep waiting for you to care?”

“You really don’t grasp the situation, do you? I simply don’t have the time to waste on this. Every second counts for me right now, and your petty complaints are the last thing I need on my plate. Can’t you see that?” He gave you an earnest gaze, his eyes narrowing as the tension between you grew. His patience was slipping, and with every seconds, his frustration grew.

“Petty?” The word struck you like a sharp slap. In an instant, the tears you had desperately tried to hold back cascaded down your cheeks. “This isn’t just something trivial, Sasuke! This is about our relationship! And yet, you’re treating it as if it holds no significance at all.” Your voice trembled with emotion, and hurt flooding your words as you confronted him.

He ran a hand through his hair, clearly exasperated, as though you were just another problem he had to deal with. “You’re being dramatic. It’s not like I’m gone forever. I come home, don’t I?”

“Physically, maybe. But emotionally? You’re never here. It’s like I don’t even matter to you anymore.”

“This is exactly why I can’t deal with this right now. You blow everything out of proportion, and then you expect me to drop everything to coddle you.”

“I’m not asking you to coddle me,” you whispered, his apathy crushed you, and you felt your breath seize and your chest constrict. “I’m asking you to care.”

There was an intolerable void between you, and his silence was deafening. When he finally did say anything, his voice lacked the familiar warmth and his words were chilly. “You can’t even understand me.”

“Do you really think I don’t understand you?” The question escaped your lips. “I’ve been trying to reach you this whole time!” Like a tumbling river, your words flowed forth, a cry to close the distance that seemed to grow between you.

With your heart racing, you moved closer to look for any indication of comprehension in his countenance. “I see your damn struggles, the tired you are, but it feels like you’re shutting me out completely. How can I understand what you’re going through if you refuse to let me in?”

He did not respond. He merely stood there, silently saying louder than he could have with his expression. And you were broken by that quiet. You understood, for the first time in years, that Sasuke was not going to stand up for you and that he would not even apologize for the suffering he had caused by hurting you in the manner that he had.

“Maybe we shouldn’t be doing this anymore.” he eventually spoke, and in that instant, everything around you seemed to stop. It felt like the air was stolen from your lungs, and your heart splintered into a thousand fragments.

Again, he stood there, silently watching as your heart shattered, doing nothing to stop it. Tears cascaded down your cheeks, and you made no attempt to wipe them away. “So, this is how it ends?”

He said nothing.

In that moment, you realized it was over.