The Missing Bride

Dev stood beside Asia on the beach as gentle waves rolled onto the shore. The salty breeze carried a quiet calm between them while Dev rested both hands over Asia’s growing belly.

“You were once married?” Asia asked softly, turning her head to look at her.

Dev gave a small nod. “Yeah.”

“What happened?”

A faint chuckle escaped Dev, though there wasn’t much humor behind it.

“The wheels fell off.”

Asia raised an eyebrow. “That’s all you’re gonna give me?”

Dev stared out at the ocean for a moment before answering.

“We were good… until we weren’t. Somewhere along the line we stopped choosing each other. Conversations turned into arguments. Arguments turned into silence. Before I knew it, we were living in the same house but felt like strangers.”

“And there wasn’t a way to fix it?” Asia asked.

“I tried. She tried too, I think. But sometimes love isn’t the problem. Sometimes timing, pride, hurt… all of that gets louder than the love.”

Asia leaned into her shoulder.

“Do you regret it?”

Dev looked down at Asia, then gently rubbed small circles across her stomach.

“I regret how it ended. I don’t regret that it happened. It taught me what I deserved… and what I couldn’t keep settling for.”

Asia smiled faintly.

“So… what makes this different?”

Dev didn’t hesitate.

“You.”

Asia laughed. “That’s a dangerous answer.”

“No,” Dev said with a grin. “The difference is that I’m not trying to relive my past. I’m building a future. With you… and this little one.”

Asia reached for Dev’s hand, intertwining their fingers over her stomach just as the baby gave a small kick.

“There she goes,” Asia whispered.

Dev’s face lit up.

“I think she’s letting us know she’s listening.”

The two stood quietly together, watching the sun sink toward the horizon, both silently hoping this chapter would last far longer than the last one.

Asia kept her eyes on the horizon, but her mind was somewhere else entirely.

“So… y’all haven’t spoken since?” she asked.

Dev shook her head.

“No.”

“Not even a text?”

“No.”

“What about closure?”

Dev shrugged.

“She didn’t want to talk. I left her alone after a while.”

Asia was quiet.

“You just… accepted that?”

“What choice did I have?” Dev replied. “You can’t force somebody to have a conversation they don’t want to have.”

Asia folded her arms across her chest.

“I don’t know…” she muttered. “People always say it’s over, then years later they’re back talking.”

Dev glanced at her.

“You asking because you’re curious… or because you’re worried?”

Asia sighed.

“I’ve got trust issues, Dev. You know that.”

“I know.”

“I don’t want to be building something with somebody who’s got unfinished business.”

Dev turned so she was facing her completely.

“I don’t.”

Asia didn’t respond.

“I mean that,” Dev continued. “There’s no late-night calls. No secret messages. No checking up on each other. No ‘happy birthday’ texts. Nothing.”

Asia searched her face, looking for even the slightest hint of hesitation.

“You still love her?”

Dev exhaled slowly.

“I’ll always have love for the person she used to be. We shared years together. I’m not going to pretend those memories disappeared overnight.”

Asia’s expression tightened.

“But I’m not in love with her anymore,” Dev finished. “There’s a difference.”

Asia looked away toward the water.

“I’ve heard people say that before.”

“I know you have.”

“My ex used to tell me not to worry too,” Asia admitted. “Then one day I found out she was still entertaining the person she swore she was done with.”

Dev nodded.

“So that’s what this is really about.”

Asia swallowed hard.

“I don’t ever want to feel stupid again.”

Dev reached for her hand but stopped just short of taking it.

“I’m not asking you to trust me because I said the right words today,” she said quietly. “Trust isn’t built in one conversation. It’s built by what I consistently do.”

Asia finally met her eyes.

“So judge me by my actions. If they don’t match my words, call me on it. But don’t make me pay for somebody else’s mistakes before I’ve made any of my own.”

The wind swept between them as Asia stood there thinking. She wanted to believe Dev. Part of her already did.

The other part—the one that had been disappointed before—kept whispering that people always sounded sincere until they weren’t.

Asia stayed by the water after Dev walked a few steps toward the beach house. The waves rolled in one after another, washing over her bare feet before retreating back into the ocean. She hugged herself, replaying every word of their conversation.

Dev glanced over her shoulder.

“You coming?”

Asia didn’t answer.

Dev let out a small sigh before walking back toward her.

“Come in for a little bit,” Dev insisted.

“I’m okay.”

“You’ve been standing out here almost an hour.”

“I know.”

“The breeze is picking up.”

Asia shrugged. “I like it.”

Dev studied her face. She knew that look. Asia wasn’t thinking anymore—she was overthinking.

“You’ve disappeared into your head again.”

Asia looked down at the sand.

“I’m trying not to.”

“I can tell.”

Silence settled between them.

Dev stepped beside her, leaving enough space so Asia wouldn’t feel crowded.

“You know…” Dev began, “every time something good happens between us, you start waiting for something bad to happen.”

Asia didn’t deny it.

“I’m just trying to protect myself.”

“I understand that.”

“No…” Asia said quietly. “I don’t think you do.”

Dev turned toward her.

“When you’ve been lied to enough, your brain starts looking for the lie before it looks for the truth.”

Dev nodded slowly.

“And that’s exhausting.”

“It is.”

Asia wiped at her eyes before any tears had the chance to fall.

“I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

Dev reached out carefully and took her hand.

“I can’t erase what someone else did to you.”

“I know.”

“But I also can’t spend every day proving I’m innocent of things I’ve never done.”

Asia swallowed hard. She knew Dev wasn’t attacking her. If anything, she sounded tired.

“I don’t want you walking on eggshells around me,” Asia admitted.

“And I don’t want you carrying around a backpack full of somebody else’s mistakes.”

A small smile tugged at the corner of Asia’s mouth.

“That was corny.”

“It got your attention.”

“It did.”

Dev laughed softly before giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

“Now… can I convince you to come inside?”

Asia looked back at the ocean one last time before nodding.

“For a little bit.”

“That’s all I’m asking.”

The two walked back toward the beach house together. Neither of them noticed the phone sitting on the kitchen counter beginning to vibrate as they reached the front door. Dev glanced toward the sound, unaware of who might be calling, while Asia instinctively stiffened, her earlier worries threatening to resurface.

#lesbianbooks #lesbianvisibility #apowellbooks #reddit #redditstories