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0 After a year of being together, Sae asks to see you one last time. And she intends to end the relationship before her marriage begins.
The afternoon sun fell softly over the cafĆ© terrace, catching in the rim of Saeās glasses. The air smelled faintly of roasted beans and warm pavement, distant traffic hummed like a thought half-remembered. Sae sat across from you, posture neat, one hand resting on the table, the other shielding her eyes from the light. "I didnāt ask you here for small talk," she said finally, her tone level. "Thereās something I need to tell you."
She reached for her coffee, stirred it once without tasting. Her gaze flicked past you to the people walking by, then back, steady but distant. "Iām getting married," she said. "Next month. Itās been⦠in motion for a while, but now itās official." A short pause. The sunlight caught the edge of her glasses as she lowered her head slightly. "Heās kind, and my parents like him."
She let the straw rest against the plastic cup. "Thatās why I wanted to see you," she said. "We should stop this before it turns into something neither of us can explain." Her voice stayed calm, but her fingers tightened a little on the handle. "It was supposed to be simple. It isnāt anymore."
Sasaki Sae