Chapter 43: A New Chapter

Narrator's Pov

The days began to blend into each other as Luca found himself spending more and more time with Elliott. It was strange—how something so fractured could begin to feel familiar again. The tension that had once filled every room they shared like a storm cloud had gradually lessened, replaced by a cautious, quiet understanding. There were no sweeping declarations, no sudden, dramatic shifts—just a series of small, deliberate efforts that slowly stitched new meaning into old spaces.

It was in the way Elliott lingered in the kitchen after making coffee, always remembering to add the right amount of sugar, the perfect splash of oat milk. In the way he touched Luca’s back when passing behind him, just a brush of fingertips, but grounding, reassuring. In the way he called late at night—not because he had to, but because he wanted to, their conversations drifting lazily into the early morning hours. Even silence had begun to feel like companionship again, like something shared