Hi everyone! Thanks for reading the latest chapter and for reading this one! Haha, I hope you guys like the new drama that I'm trying out. And please give me feedback! I would love to hear your thoughts. You guys are the greatest!

Never before in his life did Sho feel this way. Not only couldn't he breathe, but it was as if everything in the world had grinded to a halt. He was staring at her cold, hard face, expecting it to change…expecting her to take back what she said…expecting for the pain to subside. But all he could feel was a relentless sting, throbbing within his body.

Shaking his head, Sho replied in a strained voice, "What does that—? I don't get— done with me?"

Kyoko smiled gently. "It's not that hard to grasp, Sho."

Feeling the anger flare in the pit of his stomach, he clenched his fists together and stood up. "Who the hell do you think you are! Don't speak to me like I'm a damn idiot!"

She didn't reply. Kyoko just looked up at him with a curious expression, as if she was trying to decipher the meaning behind his immediate frustration. She wasn't mad at him for yelling at her…surprisingly enough, she almost felt bad for him.

Sho, however, couldn't bear to look at her face. He didn't know why he was lashing out at Kyoko like this. Why it felt as if she ripped out his heart and tore it shreds. Why it seemed like a part of him was stolen away forever.

Scowling, Sho gruffly turned his back, refusing to meet her piercing gaze.

"You know what I realized?" she began in a soft murmur after seeing his discomfort.

Sho didn't respond. He just stared ahead, listening intently to the voice behind him.

"I realized how much I've changed because of you."

"And what the hell did I do?" he asked harshly.

Kyoko looked down at her lap. "You destroyed everything I thought I knew."

Sho remained still.

"I don't think you understand how much it hurt that day. In fact, I don't think I can ever explain it to you in words."

She paused as she tried to recollect her thoughts. Kyoko had this all planned out. She knew what she was going to say to him, but it was much more difficult than she had ever imagined.

Taking in a shaky, deep breath, she continued, "When you said how you only wanted me as more of a caretaker, the anger that I felt was great, but the pain itself was what crippled me. I don't know if you realized, but I sacrificed a part of my life for you, for your career, and even more so, for your happiness."

"I never asked you to," he said angrily as he spun around. "You made those sacrifices! I didn't tell you to do anything!"

Kyoko shook her head. "I'm not blaming you, Sho. It's not your fault that I didn't have enough common sense to realize what you were doing before you tossed me away."

Sho grinded his teeth together. He hated how Kyoko was manipulating her words so that no matter how he responded, he would be the one at fault. She was absolutely merciless.

"Stop saying it like that."

She laughed. "Like what?"

Frustrated, Sho ran a hand through his hair and growled, "I don't get you at all. You just told me you hate me, and now you're laughing. Are you trying to confuse the shit out of me? Because it's working."

"I didn't say I hate you."

Sho froze.

"What?"

Kyoko looked up at the looming clouds over head and smiled gently. "I said I'm done with you. That's completely different."

"So you don't hate me?"

She looked at him. "I didn't say that either."

"Then what the hell are you saying!"

"Sho, you're not a significant part of my life anymore. Don't you get it? I'm done. No more revenge, no more hatred, no more competition. I don't want to have anything to do with you."

Like a blow to the stomach, Sho sat himself down and stared at his feet. Kyoko's sharp words hurt him in a way that no one ever could. Since the day she left, Sho had never felt that he was losing anything. He always knew that no matter where she was, he was on her mind…that she was thinking about him, even if it meant she hated him. Sho liked the idea that Kyoko didn't forget him because in reality, he never forgot her.

But right now, he could already feel her slipping away, as if she was leaving him behind, as if she found someone better. Like…

"Did he put you up to this?" Sho asked quietly, not wanting to speak his name.

Understanding immediately, Kyoko shook her head. "He doesn't even know I'm here."

Sho smiled grimly. "I guess it doesn't matter. He'd be happy either way."

Raising her eyebrow, she asked, "What for?"

"He won."

Confused, Kyoko shook her head and asked, "Won?"

Sho didn't answer. He just looked at her face, seeing the answer click within her eyes.

"I didn't know I was a prize," she said gently.

He remained quiet.

After waiting for what seemed an eternity, Kyoko finally let out a breath and got up. Sho didn't react to her movement. He felt as if his body suddenly turned into stone.

"Thanks for being here," she murmured softly as she turned her back on him. "I know how inconvenient it was for you to come, so I truly appreciate it. Goodbye, Sho."

Without another word, Kyoko quietly began to walk away, but suddenly, she felt a warm hand wrap around her wrist. Turning around, she found herself staring right into Sho's eyes. Kyoko felt her breath hitch at how close he was and the fervent expression on his face.

"Did you ever love me?" he asked as his hand tightened.

"What!"

"I need to know," he demanded angrily.

Trying to shake her hand away, Kyoko took a step back and glared. "Why do you care?"

"Why is it necessary for you to tell me this? You didn't have to come here. All you needed to do was forget me. But the fact that you had to call me out here, means that this meant a lot to you, doesn't it?"

Flustered, Kyoko averted her gaze. She didn't know how to answer his question at all. But as she thought about it, Kyoko couldn't deny the truth or her feelings. Kyoko remained quiet.

Eventually, a gentle drizzle began to fall from the dark sky as they stared at each other with a look that would have melted the world around them. They were locked in a gaze…as if nothing else mattered except the two of them.

"Yes," she murmured after an immeasurable amount of time. "I did."

Sho slowly released her hand and straightened up. "That's all I needed," he mumbled.

Sho thought that her response would help to ease the pain, hearing that she did indeed care about him, but all it did was magnify the feeling of loss to the point where it destroyed him from within. He had never felt so alone.

With a heavy heart, Kyoko turned around once more in anguish, but just as she was about to leave everything behind, she heard a faint whisper that she never dreamt she would ever hear in her life.

"I'm sorry, Kyoko."

Feeling the tears at the brim of her eyes, Kyoko couldn't believe it. How long has she wanted Sho to apologize, to take back what he said, to realize that he loved her? But now…why did it hurt her to hear him say it? Why did it make her cringe instead of glow with the satisfaction of proving him wrong? Why did it tear her apart?

With a slight turn of her head, she whispered softly, "Don't be…because I'm not."

And after so many years of torment, torture, and pain, Kyoko finally had the courage to get up and leave the past that broke her heart…that left her damaged and in pieces. But never in her life would she have thought that abandoning him would hurt this badly.