What would you have done in her position apologized, or explained yourself first?

She read his message three times: "I think we should talk."

Four words. No punctuation to soften it, no explanation to prepare her. She typed back: "About?"

He didn't reply for two hours. When he finally did, it wasn't a breakup. It wasn't a proposal either. It was: "I keep choosing you every day, and I don't think you've noticed. I need you to notice."

She sat with that for a long time. Not because it hurt but because it was true. She'd been so busy waiting for grand gestures, she'd missed all the quiet ones.