Chapter 51. Forsaken Reality

"Good evening, Isla," his greeting broke the silence, and he made his way towards the couch with a deliberate yet uncertain stride. Carefully, he placed the box, a symbolic offering, on the coffee table. "I brought food," he announced, the words hanging in the air, a tentative bridge between us.

"Thanks, but you didn't have to," I replied, my words carrying the weight of the unspoken complexities that lingered. A pregnant pause filled the room as I grappled with the next move. "Did you have dinner? We can eat outside later," he suggested, attempting to ease the atmosphere.

A slow exhale escaped me as I considered his proposal, my gaze momentarily drifting away. "Let's just start talking, shall we?" I suggested, attempting to cut through the unease that permeated the room. "So, where do we begin?" The question hung in the air.

He sighed, the weight of his words palpable in the air, and crossed his