There was a faint sound on her end, like she had stood up or turned away from something. When she spoke again, her voice was steadier.
“You never had to choose between those things. You just believed you did.”
Noah closed his eyes.
For years, he had treated his life like a narrow road with no exits—only forward, only sacrifice. But now, for the first time, he could see something he had refused to imagine: that love did not end when duty eased. It simply changed shape.
“I don’t know where to start,” he said.
Diana’s answer came without hesitation.
“Start by not disappearing this time.”
Below him, the streetlights flickered on one by one, like a second beginning quietly taking hold of the world.
