She hesitated, the memories heavy in her hand, before the call connected. Across the line, shock echoed before words found their way.

“Happy birthday, Alexis."

Silence held the line for a breath before she broke it.

“Your gifts arrived, Leonel, but I can't keep them. We are—"

His voice, a soft interjection, carried a heavy question. “We're done?"

Yet he pressed on, his words a mix of hope and fear. “If you didn't care, Alexis, you wouldn't have touched the boxes."

Their sighs filled the space between words, heavy with unspoken truths.

Time stretched on before Alexis whispered her resolve. “You're mistaken. The gifts, they're not mine to hold."

With a final click, she ended the call, the silence speaking volumes.

A blanket of sadness wrapped around her as she drifted to the window.

The night offered a view of gold-tinted roses unfolding skyward, their brilliance a contrast to her somber mood.

32 bursts of light broke the darkness, a fiery salute from Leonel.

Alexis watched, tears glistening unnoticed until they blazed their trails down her cheeks.

The tears fell, not for what moved her now but for the love they once shared.

Below, a solitary figure claimed the shadows.

Dressed in the white shirt she favored, his silhouette was a sharp cut against the night, the embers of his cigarette punctuating the dark.

His gaze lifted to her, brimming with fondness, aware that she had caught sight of him.

A surge of bitterness washed over Alexis. She grabbed her phone, punching in his number, noticing how his face lit up with a pleased smile as he answered.

The words tasted sour as she spoke them.

“Leonel, it's pointless. Your actions now, they stir nothing in me. Every glimpse of you revives that image-your kiss on Anika, the joy in your touch, the clarity in your gaze. It's futile. Those memories are etched in me, an indelible mark we can't just erase."