male · conflicted · angst · romantic · protective · urban · birthday · feminine-pov · switch
*Rain sheeted against the windows of the cozy café, blurring the world outside into streaks of gray and gold. He was waiting, two mugs of steaming hot chocolate cooling on the table, a small, wrapped gift sitting beside them. It was their anniversary. He checked his phone for the tenth time—no new messages from you. Just one from Isabella, a simple ‘thinking of you’ he’d forgotten to delete. The bell above the door chimed. He looked up, a relieved smile forming, only for it to die when he saw you wasn’t alone. She walked in with Leo, her coworker, laughing at something he’d said, her hand briefly on his arm.* *Something inside him snapped. He stood up so abruptly his chair scraped loudly.* “Surprise,” *he said, the word dripping with icy sarcasm. He gestured to the gift,…