sometimes love isn’t enough to fix what’s broken.

The bistro was buzzing with activity, the clinking of plates and the hum of conversation filling the air. But Nicole barely noticed. Her heart was pounding in her chest, her mind racing with memories of the fight that had shattered everything. Ruby’s words still rang in her ears: “I hate you sometimes, Nicole. I can’t do this anymore.”

Three days before:

The fight had started over something small, as fights often do. Nicole had come home late from running errands, too drained to notice the way Ruby’s shoulders tensed when she walked through the door.

“Nice of you to show up,” Ruby had said, her tone sharp enough to cut.

Nicole frowned, dropping her bag on the counter. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I’ve been waiting for you for two hours, Nicole. You could’ve at least texted.”

“I didn’t think it was a big deal,” Nicole muttered, already defensive.

Ruby let out a bitter laugh. “Of course you didn’t. You never think anything is a big deal unless it’s about you.”

The argument escalated quickly after that, both of them throwing accusations and frustrations at each other like live grenades. Nicole accused Ruby of being controlling; Ruby accused Nicole of being emotionally unavailable.

And then Ruby had said it.

“I hate you sometimes, Nicole.”

The room went silent, the words hanging in the air like smoke after an explosion. Nicole had stared at Ruby, her vision blurring with tears, her heart splintering into pieces.

“If you hate me so much,” she had whispered, her voice trembling, “then maybe we shouldn’t be together.”

Ruby’s face had flickered with something—regret, maybe—but she hadn’t taken the words back. She hadn’t said anything at all.

Nicole had left the apartment that night, staying at a friend’s place and avoiding Ruby at all costs.

It had been three days since those words were spoken, and the silence between them had grown louder with each passing moment. They still worked together, still existed in the same space, but it was as if a wall had been erected between them. Ruby didn’t look at Nicole, didn’t acknowledge her presence beyond the bare minimum required for work. And Nicole… Nicole didn’t know how to fix it.

That evening, the tension in the bistro was suffocating. Nicole could feel Ruby’s presence in the kitchen, could hear her voice as she called out orders to the other cooks. It was a voice she had once found comforting, a voice that had whispered sweet nothings to her in the quiet of the night. But now, it felt like a stranger’s voice, cold and distant.

Nicole tried to focus on her tables, tried to push the pain down and put on a smile for the customers. But it was impossible. Every laugh, every smile she forced felt like a lie.

And then it happened.

She was delivering an order to a table when she heard Ruby’s voice behind her, sharp and angry.

“Nicole, can you stop messing up for once? You’re holding everyone up.”

The words hit her like a slap, and she froze, her face burning with humiliation. She turned slowly to face Ruby, who was standing in the kitchen doorway, her arms crossed and her expression hard.

“I’m not messing up,” Nicole said, her voice trembling.

Ruby scoffed, shaking her head. “You’re distracted. You’ve been distracted for days. If you can’t handle it, maybe you shouldn’t be here.”

The words cut deeper than they should have, and Nicole felt the tears welling up in her eyes. She didn’t respond, didn’t trust herself to speak. Instead, she turned and walked away, her hands shaking as she set the tray down on an empty table.

She couldn’t do this. Not here, not now.

Later that night, after the bistro had closed and the staff had gone home, Nicole found herself sitting on the curb outside, her head in her hands. She had thought about leaving, about just walking away and never looking back. But something had kept her there, some small, desperate hope that maybe Ruby would come out and say something, anything, to make it better.

But Ruby didn’t come.

When Nicole finally stood and walked back into the bistro, she found Ruby cleaning the counters, her movements mechanical and precise.

“Ruby,” Nicole said, her voice soft but steady.

Ruby didn’t look up. “What do you want, Nicole?”

Nicole hesitated, her heart aching at the coldness in Ruby’s tone. “We need to talk.”

Ruby let out a bitter laugh, finally turning to face her. “What’s there to talk about? We’ve been over this.”

“No, we haven’t,” Nicole said, her voice breaking. “You just walked away. You didn’t even give me a chance to fix it.”

Ruby’s eyes flashed with anger. “Fix it? Nicole, this isn’t something you can just fix. We’ve been falling apart for months, and you know it.”

Nicole shook her head, tears streaming down her face. “But I love you. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

Ruby’s expression softened for a moment, but then she looked away, her jaw tightening. “Love isn’t enough, Nicole. Not when we keep hurting each other like this.”

Nicole felt her chest tighten, the weight of Ruby’s words crushing her. “So that’s it? You’re just giving up?”

Ruby met her gaze, her eyes filled with a mix of pain and resolve. “I’m not giving up. I’m letting go. Because I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep pretending that we’re okay when we’re not.”

Nicole let out a shaky breath, her voice barely above a whisper. “I thought we were forever.”

Ruby’s eyes filled with tears, but she didn’t let them fall. “So did I. But sometimes love isn’t enough to fix what’s broken.”

The silence that followed was deafening. Nicole wanted to scream, to beg, to do anything to make Ruby change her mind. But she knew, deep down, that it wouldn’t make a difference.

“Goodbye, Ruby,” she said finally, her voice breaking.

Ruby didn’t respond. She just watched as Nicole turned and walked out the door, the sound of it closing behind her echoing like a final goodbye.

That night, Nicole sat at her kitchen table , staring at the ceiling as tears streamed down her face. She thought about all the moments they had shared, all the laughter and love and promises of forever. And she wondered how it had all gone so wrong.

Ruby, meanwhile, sat alone in their empty apartment, her head in her hands as she tried to ignore the ache in her chest. She had told herself that this was the right thing to do, that letting Nicole go was the only way to stop the pain.

But as the silence closed in around her, she realized that the pain wasn’t gone. It was still there, sharp and unrelenting, a constant reminder of what she had lost.

And for the first time, Ruby wondered if she had made a mistake. But it was too late now.

They were both alone, two broken hearts trying to find a way to heal. But the love they had once shared was gone, and there was no going back.

Nicole lay on her bed later that night, staring at the ceiling with red-rimmed eyes. The room was quiet, save for the occasional creak of the building settling. But inside her chest, her heart was a storm—chaotic, relentless, and aching. She replayed the breakup over and over, Ruby’s voice echoing in her mind: “Love isn’t enough to fix what’s broken.”

She couldn’t stop the tears that came, hot and heavy, soaking into her pillow. She had lost Ruby. The one person who had made her feel safe, who had seen her in all her messiness and still stayed—until now. But what if it wasn’t too late? What if she could say the right thing, find the right words to make Ruby stay?

Her hands trembled as she reached for her phone. Her thumb hovered over Ruby’s name in her contacts, her heart pounding in her chest. She knew she shouldn’t call, knew it would only make things worse. But the thought of not trying, of letting Ruby slip away without a fight, was unbearable.

She pressed the call button before she could change her mind.

The phone rang once, twice, three times. Nicole’s stomach twisted with every second of silence. She was about to hang up when the call connected.

“Nicole,” Ruby’s voice came through, low and cautious.

Nicole’s breath hitched at the sound of her name. She clutched the phone tighter, her voice breaking as she spoke. “Ruby, please. I need to talk to you.”

Ruby sighed, the sound heavy with exhaustion. “Nicole, it’s late. I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“Please,” Nicole whispered, her voice cracking. “I can’t… I can’t do this without you.”

There was a long pause, and for a moment, Nicole thought Ruby might hang up. But then Ruby spoke, her tone softer but no less firm.

“Nicole, we’ve already talked about this. It’s over.”

“No,” Nicole said, her voice desperate. “It doesn’t have to be. We can fix it, Ruby. I’ll do whatever it takes. Just… don’t leave me.”

“Nicole,” Ruby said, and her voice cracked just slightly, betraying the pain she was trying to hide. “This isn’t about me leaving you. It’s about me needing to take care of myself. I can’t keep doing this—fighting, hurting, pretending like everything’s okay when it’s not.”

“But I love you,” Nicole said, tears streaming down her face. “Doesn’t that mean anything?”

Ruby let out a shaky breath, and Nicole could hear the tears in her voice. “Of course it does. But love isn’t enough when we keep tearing each other apart. I’ve tried, Nicole. I’ve tried so hard, but I can’t keep losing pieces of myself to hold us together.”

Nicole’s sobs grew louder, her chest heaving as she clutched the phone like it was the only thing tethering her to reality. “I’ll change. I’ll do better. Just tell me what you need, and I’ll do it. Please, Ruby.”

Ruby was silent for a long moment, and when she finally spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper. “I need to let you go, Nicole. For both of us.”

Nicole felt like the ground had been ripped out from under her. She shook her head, even though Ruby couldn’t see her. “No. You don’t mean that. You can’t mean that.”

“I do,” Ruby said, her voice breaking. “I love you, Nicole. I always will. But this… this isn’t healthy for either of us. We’re hurting each other more than we’re helping.”

Nicole’s heart shattered at the finality in Ruby’s tone. She wanted to scream, to beg, to do anything to make Ruby change her mind. But deep down, she knew Ruby was right.

“Goodbye, Nicole,” Ruby said softly, her voice trembling with emotion.

And then the line went dead.

Nicole sat there in the dark, the phone still pressed to her ear, the silence on the other end a stark reminder of what she had lost. She let the phone slip from her hand, her body shaking with sobs that seemed to come from the very depths of her soul.

Ruby, meanwhile, sat on her couch, her phone still in her hand, tears streaming down her face. She hated herself for hurting Nicole, for walking away from someone she loved so deeply. But she knew it was the only way to save them both.

They were two broken hearts, each grieving the loss of something they had once thought would last forever. But sometimes, love isn’t enough to fix what’s broken. Sometimes, the only way to heal is to let go.

And so, they both sat in their separate worlds, their hearts aching with the weight of goodbye, knowing that this was the end of their story.