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The city was a relentless beast to Charles, its heart pounding with a rhythm mirroring his erratic pulse. Neon lights painted the night sky in crimson and gold, contrasted with the somber hues of his introspection. He sat alone in his penthouse, a fortress of solitude. The song "We Don't Talk Anymore" played on repeat. Its melancholic melody was a haunting echo of his past. It was a blunt knife twisting in his chest. He had listened to it a hundred times, but it felt like a personal attack tonight.

"We don't talk anymore, we don't talk anymore

We don't talk anymore, like we used to do

We don't laugh anymore

What was all of it for?

Oh, we don't talk anymore, like we used to do."

The name Selene was a phantom in the air, a ghost haunting him. He took another sip of his whiskey, finding comfort in its familiar burn. The world outside was a blur of neon lights and indifferent faces. Here, in the muted glow, he could retreat into the shadows of memory. It had been three years since they had spoken, a chasm of silence stretching between them broader than the Atlantic. Yet, the memory of her laughter and the feel of her hand in his was as vivid as the first day they met.

He had met Selene in college, and their relationship had consumed their young lives. She was a spark and a wildfire that ignited everything around her, while he was the steady hand, the grounded force that balanced her. They had been young, reckless, and utterly in love. Their world was a kaleidoscope of shared dreams, spontaneous adventures, and endless possibilities. Together, they were a constellation, their orbits perfectly aligned. But constellations shift, stars burn out, and their love, once a supernova, had dwindled to a distant pinprick. Arguments became a familiar rhythm, their once synchronized hearts now beating to a discordant drum. And then, one day, the music stopped. Because of a cruel twist of fate, Charles and Selene became strangers.

Charles had been the one to end it, realizing later that he had been a coward. He had feared the depth of their love and losing her if he did not let go first. But in doing so, Charles had lost her anyway. He had tried to move on, but none of the other women had stayed. Perhaps they had sensed the echo of a love that still resonated deep within him.

As he stared at the city, he was obsessed with the question: What had gone wrong? Had their love been a fragile thing destined to shatter at the first sign of adversity? Or had they just been two people never meant to be?

Lost in thought, Charles felt suffocated. Thus, he decided to leave his house and get some fresh air. Charles wandered around, his mind a maelstrom of memories and regrets. Eventually, he was standing in front of Selene's old apartment building. It was a relic of a past life, a familiar sight. He stood there for hours, watching the flickering lights in the windows. Was she there? Was she happy? He turned and walked away. The contrast between the night atmosphere and the turmoil inside him was palpable. He had to move on. He had to find a way to silence the ghost that haunted him. Charles tried to immerse himself in work, hobbies, and anything that would distract him. However, Selene was always there, a specter lurking in the corners of his mind. 

Then, one day, he got a call from an old college friend in their inner circle. The friend sounded hesitant, unsure of how to broach the subject.

"I heard you might want to know this," the friend began. "Selene... She is not doing well."

Charles felt a cold dread creeping into his heart. "What do you mean?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

His friend hesitated again, "She has been in and out of rehab. Addiction, you know."

The world seemed to tilt on its axis. Selene, the vibrant, life-affirming woman he had known, was a prisoner of addiction. The news was a gut punch, a stark reminder of their shared history. Charles found himself drawn back into her world. He reached out to mutual friends, gathered information, and tried to piece together the puzzle of her life since their breakup. He learned that she had struggled with depression after their breakup and that she had turned to drugs as a way to cope. It was a heartbreaking revelation since Charles once heard that Selene had already moved on and got a new boyfriend right after their breakup.

"I just heard you found the one you've been looking

You've been looking for

I wish I would have known that wasn't me

'Cause even after all this time, I still wonder

Why I can't move on

Just the way you did so easily."

A part of him wanted to reach out to her, offer help, and be the steady hand she had once been for him. But another part of him was terrified of rejection, of being hurt again. He wrestled with his feelings for weeks, his mind a battleground of conflicting emotions. In the end, love won. He found her number, his hand trembling as he dialed. The phone rang several times before someone picked up.

"Hello?" a weak voice answered.

Charles took a deep breath, whispering, "Selene?"

There was a long pause as they both processed an unknown weight. Then, Selene, with a fragile and uncertain voice, replied, "Charles?"

A surge of relief washed over Charles as he heard her voice, even though it was frail. It was her, the woman he had lost but still loved. He cleared his throat, trying to steady his voice. "It is me. I know it has been a long time, and I do not expect you to want to talk to me, but I... I just wanted to see how you were doing."

Selene's silence stretched on. Finally, her voice, though still soft, held a hint of steel. "Charles, what do you want?"

Her question was direct, cutting through the layers of unspoken words and emotions. Charles felt his heart tighten. He knew this was it, the moment of truth.

"Selene, I know things have not been easy for you. I heard about... about the drugs. I know how hard it has been. I want to help, to be there for you, like I should have been before." His voice was gentle, filled with sincerity.

There was a long pause on the other end. It felt like an eternity to Charles. He could almost hear the cogs turning in Selene's mind, wrestling with her turmoil.

Finally, she spoke, her voice barely audible. "You want to help me?"

"Yes," Charles replied firmly. "I do. I want to try again, Selene. If you are willing, I mean. Are you... are you single?"

It was another silence from Selene. Charles's heart pounded in his chest, a mix of hope and dread. He had laid his heart bare, offered a lifeline, and now he waited for her response.

Finally, her voice, small and hesitant, broke the silence. "I... I do not know what to say, Charles." Her words were filled with a mixture of confusion and longing. "Things have changed so much, and I did try loving someone else. Yet the results were not like I had expected."

Charles could hear the pain and uncertainty in her voice. He knew she was grappling with her demons, trying to find her way back to the surface. "I know, Selene. I know things are different. But I also know that we can change things. We can start over if you want to. It's such a shame if we don't give it a try, right?"

"Don't wanna know

What kinda dress you're wearin' tonight

If he's holdin' onto you so tight

The way I did before

I overdosed

Should've known your love was a game

Now I can't get you outta my brain

Oh, it's such a shame

That we don't talk anymore, we don't talk anymore

We don't talk anymore, like we used to do

We don't laugh anymore

What was all of it for?

Oh, we don't talk anymore, like we used to do."

After a few minutes, a hesitant "yes" escaped Selene's lips, her voice barely audible. It was a whisper of hope, a fragile thread in the tapestry of their shattered past. Charles felt a surge of relief and anticipation. This was the beginning, a chance to mend what was broken.

"Selene," he began, his voice filled with a gentle determination, "I know this is a lot to take in, and I do not expect you to decide anything right now. But I want you to know I am here, whatever you decide. We can take it slow, one step at a time."

Selene responded, her voice slightly stronger now, "Okay, Charles. Okay."

It was a small step, a tentative agreement, but Charles felt like it was a giant leap forward. He had taken the first step towards rebuilding their world, and Selene, with her fragile agreement, had met him halfway.

The conversation that followed was a doubtful dance, a cautious exploration of the territory they had once known so intimately. They spoke of mundane things, such as the weather and their jobs. Things seemed to be better, but beneath the surface, a storm raged.

"I have been thinking about you," Selene finally admitted, her voice barely audible.

The words hung in the air, heavy with unspoken emotions.

Charles felt a surge of longing, a desperate desire to bridge the chasm between them.

"Me too," he replied, his voice trembling slightly.

They talked for hours, revisiting old memories, reliving shared laughter, and acknowledging the pain of their separation. It was as if they were peeling back layers of an onion, revealing raw and vulnerable emotions with each tear.

When they finally hung up, Charles felt a strange sense of peace. He felt like a burden had been removed from him. But the ache in his heart remained, a constant reminder of what had been and what could have been.

"I just hope you're lyin' next to somebody

Who knows how to love you like me

There must be a good reason that you're gone

Every now and then, I think you

Might want me to come show up at your door

But I'm just too afraid that I'll be wrong."

The aftermath of their reconnection was a delicate dance on the precipice of hope and despair. For a time, it seemed they were rebuilding the bridge that had once connected them. They spent countless hours on the phone, their conversations filled with laughter and shared dreams. There were moments when Charles believed they could pick up where they left off. He even thought their love story might not be over.

But the ghost of their past was a persistent specter. The wounds they had once inflicted on each other were slow to heal. Trust, once shattered, was a fragile thing to rebuild. Beneath the surface of their newfound connection, old resentments and insecurities lurked.

It began with small arguments and misunderstandings blown out of proportion. Words they once whispered became weapons. The more they tried to repair their relationship, the more it seemed to unravel.

Haunted by the fear of being hurt again, Selene began to withdraw. She erected walls around her heart, protecting herself from the pain of rejection. Charles, desperate to hold onto her, pushed harder, only to find himself with resistance.

Their communication, once a lifeline, became a battleground. They accused each other of the past, their voices raised in anger and frustration. The laughter that had once filled their conversations was replaced by silence, punctuated by the occasional accusation or blame.

The day it ended was as ordinary as any other. They were arguing about something trivial, a forgotten promise, a misplaced item. But the words that followed were anything but insignificant. They were the final nails in the coffin of their relationship.

"I'm tired of this," Selene said, trembling. "I'm tired of going in circles. We can't do this anymore."

Charles felt a cold dread creep into his heart. "Don't say that," he pleaded. "We can work this out."

But Selene was resolute. "No, Charles. We can not."

The silence that followed was deafening. Charles and Selene gazed at each other, their eyes expressing sorrow and rage.

"Goodbye, Selene," Charles whispered, his voice barely audible.

She nodded, her eyes brimming with tears.

As she turned to leave, Charles reached out to her, but she pulled away. He watched her disappear, a wave of despair washing over him.

The days that followed were a blur of pain and loneliness. Charles found himself adrift, a ghost in his own life. He tried to fill the void with work, friends, and distractions, but nothing seemed to ease the ache in his heart.

Selene was lost, too. She had retreated into a shell of solitude, her world reduced to a small, dark space. She tried to ignore the images of Charles. Nevertheless, Selene could not stop thinking about the scenario where he loved someone else.

"Don't wanna know

If you're lookin' into her eyes

If she's holdin' onto you so tight

The way I did before

I overdosed

Should've known your love was a game

Now I can't get you outta my brain

Ooh, it's such a shame."

They were both prisoners of their past, unable to move forward or let go. Their love story had become a tragedy, a haunting reminder of what could have been. And as the days turned into weeks, they realized they were lost to each other forever.

The city, formerly a lively display of existence, now appeared to reflect their despair. The bright neon lights, previously an inspiration, now served as a harsh symbol of their broken aspirations. As Charles stood at his window, gazing out at the endless expanse of the night, he felt a profound sense of loss. He was alone, a solitary figure in a world that seemed to have forgotten him.

And in a quiet apartment on the other side of town, Selene was also lost in the darkness, her heart heavy with sorrow. The echoes of their love story were a constant torment, a haunting melody on repeat in her mind.

As the dawn approached, casting its first rays of light over the city, they were both alone, their hearts broken, their spirits shattered. The end had come, not with a bang, but with a whisper, leaving behind a trail of shattered dreams and unanswered questions.

"Don't wanna know

What kinda dress you're wearin' tonight

If he's givin' it to you just right

The way I did before

I overdosed

Should've known your love was a game

Now I can't get you outta my brain

Oh, it's such a shame."