ugh the walls were closing in on her, the air growing heavier with each passing second. She had thought that hearing Elian's confe

ity to navigate the world on her own terms. Yet, standing in front of Elian now, she felt smaller, more vulnerable than she had ever allowed herself to be.

anymore. Anger? Betrayal? Relief? Every emotion she had harbored for so long-every accusation, every harsh word she had whispered to herself about him

rper than she intended. The bitterness was still there, coiled tightly within her. It felt sa

sed, as though he could see through the walls she had built up so carefully. "I'm not trying to fix everything, Serena," he replied, his voice stead

the dismissive glances, the feeling of being invisible when she had desperately needed someone to notice her, to see her potential. She had been so desperate fo

she shot back, her eyes narrowing. "What

ok a step forward, closing the distance between them. Serena instinctively took a step back, but h

he struggle in your eyes. I've seen the way you fight to keep up, to prove yourself, even when no one's looking. I

ing for so long that she had forgotten what it was like to just breathe, to stop and acknowledge the weight of what she was carrying. She had buried herself in her work, in her dreams,

he couldn't help but feel exposed. She had kept so much of herself hidden, locked

ak free. She blinked them away, pushing the weakness aside. She couldn't let him see her like this, vulner

ere all along, buried deep inside of her. She had thought that by rejecting him, by pushing him away,

gn, coming from her mouth, but they were the truth. How could she trust him after everything?

id softly, his voice tinged with regret. "I don't deserve your trust after everything I've done. But I'm asking for a ch

fear, and even a flicker of hope-flooding through her. The walls she had built were starting to crumble, one piece at a t

ice barely audible. "Why after a

ce raw. "I can't stand seeing you so lost, so broken, when I know you're capable of so much more. I know you've been carrying this

where everything she thought she knew about herself and her life was suddenly being rewritten. She had spent so long in the darkness, fighting to

on her tongue, but they were the truth. She wasn't ready to let go of the bitterness, to forgive him for ev

," he replied softly. "And I'm not asking you to be

't have all the answers, and she wasn't sure what the future held. But for the first time in a long time, she felt like she had a choi

ing to quiet. And in its place, a new possibility was born. One that