Chapter 1: I Only Came for My PS5
I wasn’t there to get her back.
I only wanted my PlayStation.
That was the lie I kept telling myself while I sat in my car outside Tiana’s apartment building, staring at the third-floor window where I had spent two years believing I belonged.
Two weeks earlier, I had walked out of that same apartment carrying two duffel bags, a box of clothes, and a feeling I couldn’t name.
Anger.
Embarrassment.
Maybe grief.
But not heartbreak.
At least, that was what I told everyone.
My brother Devin had looked at me the night I moved out and said, “You’re really okay with this?””
I had tossed a pair of sneakers into the trunk.
“I’m fine.””
“You packed your toothbrush, your clothes, your guitar, and somehow forgot the thing you spent six months waiting for.””
I had looked at him.
“What thing?””
He gave me a look.
“Your PS5, Marcus.””
I laughed.
A real laugh.
The first one I’d had all day.
“Man, I forgot about that.””
But I hadn’t forgotten.
Not really.
That console was the one thing left behind from the life I thought I was building with Tiana.
I had saved for months to buy it. Skipped takeout. Picked up extra shifts. Stayed late at work.
When I finally brought it home, Tiana had rolled her eyes.
“You’re thirty years old and you’re excited about a gaming console?””
I remember smiling because I thought she was teasing.
“Thirty-year-olds can have hobbies.””
She had kissed my cheek.
“Fine. But if you start ignoring me for that thing, I’m throwing it out the window.””
I laughed.
She laughed.
Back then, I didn’t know how serious she was about throwing things away.
Including me.
I grabbed my phone from the passenger seat and looked at the message I had sent her earlier.
*Marcus: I’m coming by around 7. Need to grab the PS5 and the last box in the closet.*
Her reply had come five minutes later.
*Tiana: You should’ve told me sooner.*
I frowned.
I had told her.
Two hours earlier.
*Marcus: I did.*
No response.
That was when I knew something was strange.
Tiana always had something to say.
Even when she didn’t have anything to say.
Especially then.
I looked up at the apartment again.
The lights were on.
Someone was home.
I took a deep breath, stepped out of the car, and walked inside.
The elevator ride felt longer than it should have.
Every floor reminded me of the last two years.
The first time I came here, I carried groceries and flowers.
The second time, I carried a suitcase because we were going on vacation.
The last time, I carried my entire life in two bags.
Funny how the same hallway could hold so many different versions of you.
When I reached her door, I knocked.
Three seconds later, the lock turned.
Tiana opened it.
And immediately stepped into the doorway.
Not smiled.
Not said hello.
Blocked me.
That was the first thing I noticed.
“Marcus,” she said.
Her voice was careful.
Too careful.
“You should’ve called first.””
I stared at her.
“I did.””
She crossed her arms.
“Well, now isn’t a good time.””
I almost laughed.
Almost.
Because two weeks ago, she had screamed at me for leaving my coffee mug in the sink.
Now she was acting like I was a stranger trying to enter her home.
“I’ll be thirty seconds,” I said.
“I’m grabbing my console and leaving.””
Her jaw tightened.
“No.””
I blinked.
“No?””
“Come back tomorrow.””
I looked past her.
“What?””
“Tomorrow works better.””
“Why?””
She didn’t answer.
That silence was louder than anything she could have said.
I leaned slightly to the side, trying to see inside.
The apartment looked different.
Not because anything had changed.
Because something felt changed.
Like I was standing outside a place that used to know me.
“Tiana.””
“What?””
“Why can’t I get my stuff?””
She looked away.
“I said tomorrow.””
I studied her face.
There was something there.
Fear.
Not guilt.
Not anger.
Fear.
And that was when I heard it.
A sound from inside.
A voice.
A man’s voice.
“Hey, Tiana? Where’s the charger?””
Everything stopped.
My eyes moved back to her.
Her face went pale.
For a second, neither of us spoke.
Then she forced a smile.
“Nobody’s here.””
I stared at her.
“What?””
“Nobody.””
I almost felt insulted.
Not because there was another man inside.
Because she thought I was stupid enough to believe that.
I heard footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
Coming from deeper inside the apartment.
Then the same voice called again.
“Tiana?””
This time, there was no pretending.
My chest tightened.
“Who’s here?””
She stepped forward.
“Marcus, don’t do this.””
“Do what?””
“Just leave.””
I looked at her.
“You’re telling me to leave my own apartment?””
Her expression changed.
“You don’t live here anymore.””
The words hit harder than I expected.
Not because they were true.
Because of how easily she said them.
I looked at the place where we had painted walls together.
The kitchen where we cooked dinner every Sunday.
The couch where we watched movies until we fell asleep.
And suddenly I understood something.
I wasn’t standing outside my old home.
I was standing outside a stranger’s.
“Tiana,” I said quietly.
“Move.””
She grabbed my arm.
“Marcus, don’t.””
Her fingers tightened.
For a moment, I looked down at her hand.
The same hand that held mine at the beach last summer.
The same hand that wore the ring I bought her.
The same hand that pushed me away two weeks ago.
I pulled my arm back.
“What are you hiding?””
“Nothing.””
“Then let me walk ten feet into a room.””
She didn’t answer.
That was enough.
I walked past her.
“Marcus!””
Her voice cracked.
I kept going.
The hallway felt endless.
The bedroom door was halfway open.
And before I reached it, I already knew.
I knew because Tiana followed me.
I knew because she wasn’t yelling anymore.
She was begging.
“Please.””
I stopped.
Slowly, I turned around.
Her eyes were glassy.
Not because she was sorry.
Because she was scared of what I was about to see.
“What is happening, Tiana?””
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Then I pushed the door open.
A man I had never seen before was sitting on the edge of the bed.
White T-shirt.
Gray sweatpants.
Controller in his hands.
He looked at me like I was the one who didn’t belong.
My eyes moved from him.
To the controller.
Then to the television.
The screen showed a game paused in the middle of a mission.
My game.
My account.
My save file.
My stomach dropped.
“Is that my PS5?””
Silence.
Tiana stopped behind me.
The stranger looked down at the controller.
Then back at me.
“Your PS5?””
His voice carried confusion.
Not guilt.
Confusion.
I turned toward Tiana.
She couldn’t even look at me.
The man stood up slowly.
“Wait a minute.””
He looked at her.
Then at me.
“You told me you bought this for me.””
The room went completely silent.
And suddenly, getting my console back became the least important problem in that apartment.
Because I wasn’t looking at my missing PS5 anymore.
I was looking at the woman who had spent two years telling me I was the only person she needed.
And the stranger who apparently believed she had chosen him.
Then he reached for something on the nightstand.
A phone.
He unlocked it.
And his face changed.
“Marcus…”
I froze.
How did he know my name?
He looked at Tiana.
Then back at me.
“You’re Marcus?””
My mouth went dry.
“Yes.””
He swallowed.
“Then you need to see something.””
He turned the phone around.
The picture on the screen was of Tiana.
But it wasn’t just Tiana.
It was Tiana standing next to him.
Both of them smiling.
Both of them wearing matching shirts.
And the date underneath the picture was from three months ago.
My hands went cold.
Three months ago.
While I was still sleeping beside her.
While she was still kissing me goodbye every morning.
While I was still believing we were building a future.
The man looked at me with a confused expression.
“Who are you to her?””
I looked at Tiana.
For the first time in two weeks, she had nothing to say.
Then her phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
And the color drained from her face.
Because the name calling wasn’t mine.
It wasn’t his either.
It was someone else.
May you like
Someone who would explain why she was so desperate to keep me away from that bedroom.
Someone who had just arrived.