Vedrana spotted Ognjen in the ticket queue and nearly turned away. They hadn't seen each other for three years, since he stopped replying after an argument. His brief message accepting her decision hadn't made sense then. She assumed it was merely a cold way to leave. Now he approached politely and cautiously, asking whether he could stand beside her while they waited because pretending not to know her felt awkward.
They discussed work, moving, and the play both wanted to see. Then Ognjen said he regretted how they ended but had respected her request never to call again. Vedrana felt cold beneath her coat. She had never written that. Their argument concerned his postponement of a shared holiday, not a wish for him to vanish. She asked him to repeat the exact words he remembered.
She recognized a phrase her sister, Selina, often used: "Don't spend my peace." During those days, she stayed with her sister, leaving her phone unlocked while showering. She didn't immediately accuse Selina. She told Ognjen she needed to check something and wasn't asking him to change his present life. He was in a new relationship. Vedrana also had a partner and was happy with him. The truth didn't need to promise reunion to matter.
Selina admitted it as soon as she asked. She had seen the messages, decided Ognjen was merely prolonging her pain, and replied for her. Afterwards, she deleted the conversation. "I couldn't watch you cry over him," she said. Vedrana replied that she had cried for months afterwards, with the added belief that she wasn't worth an explanation. Her sister wanted to discuss good intentions. Vedrana wanted her to hear that she had taken over a decision that wasn't hers.
She stopped sharing passwords and asked her sister not to visit unannounced for a while. Their family said they were too close to become distant over an old message. Vedrana explained that their closeness was exactly what enabled the deception. She sent Ognjen brief confirmation that she hadn't written the message. He thanked her. They didn't arrange coffee that might give an old injury a false romantic opportunity.
A month later, Selina visited by arrangement. She brought cake but didn't use it instead of an apology. She said she had tried to manage her sister's life and that it hadn't been protection. Vedrana let her inside. They talked briefly, more cautiously than before. When the phone rang while Vedrana was in the kitchen, Selina left it on the table and waited for her sister to return.