The Illusion Of Us

CHAPTER 6

Tony's voice rose in disbelief, echoing his shock at Ethan's confession. "What did you just say, Ethan?" he demanded, struggling to process the words.

Ethan, burdened with a heavy sigh, didn't reply. He simply took another sip of his beer. A short distance away, Ava stood frozen, absorbing every word her fiancé uttered.

"Six years, Ethan, not six days! You're saying you don't love her? That's impossible," Tony continued, frustration evident in his voice. "Is this about Violet again?"

Ethan inhaled sharply, the weight of his silence crushing. He nodded slowly, his gaze fixed on the ground, unable to face the truth in Tony's eyes.

"You can't let go of Violet, even after all this time?" Tony's voice rose, each word laced with incredulity and pain.

Ethan's voice, when it came, was a mere whisper, laden with unresolved grief. "Violet was my world, Tony. Then she disappeared, leaving nothing, not even a simple explanation... How does one move on from that?"

Ava's heart felt like it was being torn apart. She had never known about Ethan and Violet. The revelation was a chasm opening beneath her, swallowing her whole.

"And Ava... you used her to fill the void Violet left?" Tony's accusation was sharp, a knife cutting through the pretense. "Ava is our friend, Ethan. How could you play with her feelings like that?"

Ethan's voice trembled, every word laced with a confession of his deepest, most painful truth. "Tony, I swear, I tried to love her," he began, his voice cracking under the weight of his guilt. "But every time I told Ava 'I love you,' it felt like a lie clawing at my throat. Every kiss, every embrace... it was torture."

He paused, swallowing hard, his eyes reflecting a turmoil of emotions. "Waking up next to her, seeing Ava's face instead of Violet's... it was a daily nightmare, a reminder of what I'd lost and what I was pretending to have. I hated it, Tony. I hated the pretense, the charade of a love I couldn't feel."

Ethan's confession hung in the air, a stark, painful truth that cut through the silence. "Every 'I love you' only meant for Violet. I was living a lie, every single day, and it was killing me inside.

Ava felt as if the ground beneath her had given way, her world shattering into fragments with each of Ethan's words. His confessions tore through her heart, each sentence a brutal, unrelenting assault on her emotions. It was inconceivable to her - this person, uttering such heart-wrenching truths, couldn't be the Ethan she knew and adored.

In her mind, she clung desperately to the image of the Ethan she loved – the one who cherished her, who would never dream of inflicting such pain. She repeated it to herself, a mantra against the tide of despair, refusing to believe that the foundation of her life could crumble so cruelly, so suddenly.

But the reality was unyielding, and her tears flowed ceaselessly, each one a testament to the raw, overwhelming grief that engulfed her. The Ethan she thought she knew, the man she had entrusted her heart to, seemed now like an illusion, leaving her adrift in a sea of betrayal and heartache.

"For six years, I've been waiting, hoping Violet would come back. I planned to leave Ava then," Ethan added, his voice a hollow echo of his inner turmoil.

"Seriously, Ethan, this is messed up!" Tony's voice was filled with anger and disbelief. "If you feel like this, why haven't you ended things with Ava?"

Ethan looked deeply troubled. "I just... haven't found the right moment, and I don't know how to break it to her. I really don't want to hurt Ava, Tony. She's been nothing but wonderful to me." He buried his face in his hands, overwhelmed by guilt and regret.

"Do you have to end it with Ava? Are you really going to throw away six years over someone who's already left you?" Tony's probing questions sought a clear response.