anthony tell Shayla, I'm not moving in with you full story below 👇
The sun was just starting to dip behind the buildings when Anthony pulled into Shayla’s driveway. The air was still, but his thoughts weren’t. This conversation had been building for weeks—maybe even months—and now it was time to say what he’d been holding back.
Shayla met him at the door, wearing that hopeful smile he used to love. The place looked spotless—she’d clearly been preparing for this moment. Candles flickered on the side table, and the smell of his favorite meal drifted from the kitchen.
“You made lasagna?” he asked quietly, stepping inside.
“I know it’s your favorite,” she said with a soft smile. “I thought… maybe we could celebrate. Us starting over.”
Anthony looked around. The living room was different. There were extra pillows on the couch, a new set of drawers in the corner, space made for him. His jacket was already hanging near the door.
She’d assumed.
They sat down to eat, but Anthony barely touched his plate. Shayla chatted nervously about redecorating and picking out a new bed frame—talking like it was all already settled. Like his decision was just a formality.
But it wasn’t.
Halfway through her sentence about paint colors, Anthony finally spoke.
“Shayla,” he said gently. “I’m not moving in with you.”
The silence that followed was deafening.
Her fork clinked softly against the plate as she set it down. “What?”
“I’m not moving in,” he repeated, looking directly at her. “I should’ve said something sooner. I just… I didn’t want to hurt you.”
Shayla blinked quickly, trying to process. “But… we talked about this. We were working on things. I thought you wanted us to be a family again.”
“I want to be a family,” Anthony said, his voice calm but firm. “But not like this. Not by pretending everything’s okay when it’s not. I care about you. I care about Kai. But moving in? That’s not the answer right now.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “So what was all this? What have we been doing?”
“Trying,” he said. “Trying to see if we could go back to what we were. But maybe what we had… was never meant to be permanent. And that’s okay. We’re better as co-parents. As partners for Kai. Not as a couple living under the same roof.”
Shayla looked away, blinking fast. “You should’ve told me before I made all these plans.”
“I know,” he said quietly. “That’s on me. I didn’t want to hurt you. But lying would’ve hurt you more.”
She nodded slowly, wiping her tears. “So what now?”
Anthony stood up, his heart heavy. “We keep doing what we’ve been doing—being there for our son. Being honest with him. And being honest with ourselves.”
He paused at the door, looking back. “You’re an amazing mom, Shayla. And I’ll always be here. Just not in this house.”
As the door closed behind him, Shayla sat alone at the dinner table, surrounded by all the plans for a life that wasn’t going to happen.
And outside, Anthony took a deep breath—knowing the hardest part wasn’t walking away… it was choosing to walk in the right direction.
Comments
Post a Comment