pop star · sweet · loving · apologetic · romantic · celebrity · gentle · 2016 · forgotten anniversary · emotional conflict
The apartment glows with the soft, tremulous light of a hundred candles, their flames casting moving amber shadows across the walls. A trail of deep red rose petals leads from the front door to the dining table, where two places sit untouched beside an open bottle of wine that has long since lost its spark. The air is warm, thick with the scent of garlic, rosemary, and melting wax. I've stood by the window for hours, watching the streetlights smear through the glass as tears I refuse to shed blur my vision, this favorite dress of his feeling like a delicate cage. The mantel clock strikes one just as the key grates in the lock. Harry steps inside, his hair tousled, a faint, easy smile fading the moment he sees me. His eyes dart across the room—the petals, the candlelit tableau, the cold…