Byron sighed, looking at the bees. “Tam him leave your house, jennifer. I know you told me what went down… but watching him walk out that door it messed me up.
“You think 1 led?” she asked, stunned.
“No.” he quickly said. “I believe you. I do it it don’t make it any age, ay? I spent years loving you from a distance, Watching you get hurt, wishing I could fix it
“But now, finally, I will be near you, but he is here. Still creeping into your brain.”
Jennifer’s heart shrunk within her, and she reached for his hand, but he drew it back gently.
−1 anno kecondhand Jen, not that sort of thing.”
“You’re not! You’ve never been,” she argued. Dein was part of my past. As unirtunate past. But you you stayed The one who taught me to breathe once more,”
The looked athes, and this was real, and she saw the pain for a moment in those eyes. Not anges. It was fear. Fra that will İnce her to a man who has already broken her once “Then help me believe that,” he said quirily, “Because right now, I don’t lason where I stand.”
Jennifer leaned back, not knowing exactly what to say. She thought that rejection of Devlin would malia everything plain as Byron knew she had chose Love, howe, n’t that simple, not when old wounds still bled dark
The next few days were filled with silences and unspoken feelings Jennifer reached out to him. She brought him coffee and left him short notes; she even invited him to lunch. He smiled, accepted but something wasn’t there: the warmth, the ease, the spark
One afternoon, the dive up to his workshop. He had been busy with a cabinet; the scent of sawdust laden the ale.
“Do you want to rotodinar later?” she asked, standing at the threshold
He looked up from the wood, wiped his bow. Tve got some things to finish. Maybe another i
Her heart dropped in disappointment. “Byron are you trying to push me away on purpos?” Het down his tools. “I’m trying to protect impulf And maybe you too, I don’t want to
you settle for I want to be the man you choose, every day.”
“I do choose you,” she said, stepping closer. “Suro Lam still healing. But I didn’t want Devlin back. I wanted closure.
* Then why do you still look like you be writing los something? The ask “Evins thur i see you part of you looks like it is ment
Jennifer could not think of an awer. Maybe part of her still remained capthen that broken vision of herself – who lived on in tear and silence far too long. Maybe healing was not about choosing someone new it was about choosing herself.
That evening she sat in her apartment, looking at the old pictures on he dresses. One was of her and Devlin, smiling, Another one featured her and Byron, laughing in sunlight.
She picked up the picture with theron and traced his lace with her linger “Always the light” she whispered.
Then she picked up Devlin’s place, and with deliteration, tore it in half.
The following morning, she showed up at Byron’s door
fswid, her wolow meader now
He opened the door wider, Jetting her in
“I’ve been holding once things that I should have let go ages ago,” she continued “Fear, shame, gut. Het Devlin make me feel small. I allowed even the memory of his existence to haunt my. And it wasn’t fall to me, or to y
Byron was listening quer buter prent.
“That was my choice. Not only because I didn’s low him, but more importantly, because loving myself became my priority,” she said. “I want to be with a guy who makes me feel safe, sem me, and that in you. It has always town you.”
did not speak right away. Slowly, the hardness in his eyes softened.
“You don’t have to be perfect for me, Jen,” he finally said. “Just be real”
Sta stepped forward, and in a moment, she had reached him. This time he did not pull away.
The hard road that stretched ahead wasn’t paved with stones. There were still ghosts to confront, yet the was sit healing to be done. But Jake something no
Lou was target the past it is to choose the future with each hot brave step.
She finally lefieved they could take the steps together when Byron brought her close to him.
Hyram fald her tight, hin Hardy and slow against real closed her eyes and let hell drill into the moment. There was nothing perfect or tarytale about this ending. it was real, gritty, unfinished But it was theirs.
Tinsoury Hook so long” ale breathed against his clarsi,
byron is aned backward just a Intl,
She nodded posnete *
They were sitting, snite atient couch in the living room, hand in hand. There were no worth spokon, nothastks. But there was
goose fully on “ang takes tim
i time — I just needed to know you were walking toward me not looking behind you.”
as peace, the kind feunites hadn’t know in years. And with
“all I’m saying” byron said gently, “is that I’m not expecting us to have it all figured out, but why Jennifer smiled, transbog “Then let’s be messy and urated and barst together.”
| we are honest with each viber.”
He laughed soft), “Good plan ”
and whisked past and rustled the leaves. Inside, whats gan silly beating as one. The ghosts weren’t all gone, for the fist
With a
touch on her forehead, Byron formed a silent promise Jenniter now rested her head on his abone, feeling a litle from the burden of her past it would not be easy. There would le times of insurity, sturkowscreeping in, but they would face it together. No me Luning No seal guessing just two people nying to heal and tying to build something real from the shands they could udany.
“Tam leie,” de uidh a whisper.
“I am not going anywhere,” Byron orplied
And now, for the first half like forever, Jenniler had truly believed him
