breakup but not broken

  Chapter 1: The Weight of Ordinary Days Mira and Kian had been together for seven years. Not the explosive kind of love, not the kind that ignites and consumes in flames—but the slow-burning sort, like embers in a fireplace that had warmed them through harsh winters of life. They met in college. Kian was the loud, charming one with reckless confidence. Mira was quiet, methodical, thoughtful. They balanced each other out, at first like puzzle pieces, but over the years, more like opposing magnets constantly pulling and pushing. By the seventh year, their apartment had become quieter, filled with routines rather than laughter. Dinner was eaten in silence more often than not. Conversations had turned transactional: “Did you pay the electricity bill?” “Don’t forget your mother’s birthday dinner.” And so, one evening, over takeout Thai food and half-empty wine glasses, Mira whispered the words that felt like an earthquake: "I think we should take a break." Kian didn’t speak for a...