Chapter: The Pages I Didn't Read

Olivia returned home with her heart beating differently. As soon as she closed the door, she went straight to Tom's bookshelf. It still held his books, arranged in the chaotic way that had always defined him. Philosophy, literature, science... all mixed together, as if he believed knowledge made more sense when it coexisted without labels.

She searched behind the philosophy books, and there it was: a blue notebook, slightly worn, held closed by an elastic band. Olivia hesitated for a few seconds before opening it, as if her fingers needed to ask for permission.

The first pages were poems. Some familiar, others clearly his own. Then came scattered thoughts, confessions, underlined phrases, little drawings that brought back places they had visited together. But the most striking part was a full section titled: "Things I Never Said."

There, written in black ink, in his unmistakable handwriting, she read:

"I didn't tell her that every time she laughed, I felt saved. That the first time she held my hand, I knew I was screwed... because I wouldn't be able to let go. That I was afraid I wouldn't be enough for her love. That I imagined our house, our cat, our mornings."

Each page was a treasure, a universe Tom had silently built for her. Olivia read them carefully, as if they were petals that might fall apart if touched too hard.

And that night, in her bed, between sweet tears and soft sighs, she wrote another letter.

Letter #3: The Words You Didn't Say

Tom, my love:

I found the blue notebook. The one filled with things you never said. And you don't know how much it hurt me and healed me at the same time. Every word of yours went straight through me. I saw myself reflected in every line, and for a moment, it felt like you were right in front of me, confessing it all with that trembling voice you used when speaking from the heart.

Thank you for writing it. For keeping it. For thinking of me even without knowing if I would ever read it. I felt you close. I felt you real. Alive.

And I didn't know how much I needed that.

I love you with every part of me, even the ones still broken.

— Olivia.