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The flight back from the island felt different. Not just the airy lightness of post-vacation bliss, but a weightlessness in Shania’s chest—a freedom she hadn’t felt in years. As she leaned against Stefan’s shoulder, the hum of the plane’s engine steady in the background, she closed her eyes and reflected on the transformation she’d undergone.
Stefan brushed a strand of hair from her face. “Tired?”
“No,” she replied, her eyes fluttering open. “Just thinking.”
“About?”
“About how... I feel more like myself than I ever have,” she said softly. “But also... I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface of who I am.”
He smirked. “I’d say that’s a good thing. The best journeys don’t have a final destination, right?”
She laughed lightly, but her mind was already turning. Stefan had a way of grounding her while also inspiring her to dream bigger. And now, sitting in first class, thousands of feet above the ground, she felt the stirrings of a new vision—a purpose beyond anything she had eve
