Eyes filled with tears look at me, sighing reluctant farewells, while contradictory words swirl around. I turn my face away to escape the obsessive deceit in your gaze, still a victim, yet also the architect of so much pain and pity. I flee from your sorrow to shield my own, but your hand clasps me, cold and trembling. I step back from your call and drift away. I will not return, you know, yet I will never remove the ring you placed upon my finger that day, an unexpected emblem of those tears.