“You have a chance now,” I tell her quietly. “To do it differently.”
Her breath catches.
And then she melts into me.
Completely.
We stay like that for a long time.
Long enough for the sun to disappear beneath the horizon.
Long enough for the sky to shift from gold to deep blue—
And then to night.
The moon rises slowly, casting silver light across the water.
We walk along the shore after that.
No rush.
No destination.
Just…talking.
About everything.
About how she ended up here.
About the strange, almost impossible chain of events that tied her life to mine.
“You know I didn’t like you when we first met?” she says.
I laugh—really laugh. The kind that feels unfamiliar in my chest. Unrestricted.
“I know you didn’t,” I reply. “And I didn’t give a fuck.”
She laughs, shaking her head.
“But now I do,” I add.
Our gazes meet.
And she looks away almost immediately.
Even in the dim light, I catch it—the faint color rising to her cheeks.
It does something strange to my chest. Something I don’t bother trying to understand.
“What about me?” she asks after a second. “Did you like me?”
I hesitate.
Just for a moment.
Then I give her the truth.
“I don’t know about like,” I say. “But I was attracted to you from the first glance.” Her lips curve slightly. “But I thought you were too stubborn for your own good.”
