Liam’s POV The clock on the nightstand read five in the morning when I woke up. The house was silent, yet my chest felt unbearably heavy. This unease wasn't like the usual kind. It was sharper, gnawing at me as though something was wrong.I sat at the edge of the bed, running both hands over my face. Normally, I would fall back asleep after waking this early, but not this time. My body refused. There was a pull—an invisible alarm screaming inside me. I got up, walked to the window, and pushed the curtain aside. The sky outside was still draped in gray, dawn only beginning to break through the night. The cold air slipped in, brushing against my skin, but it wasn’t the chill that made me shiver. It was the emptiness, the strange pull toward something I couldn’t name.I tried to ignore it. I made coffee, sat at the table, turned on my phone. But even as my eyes stared at the blank screen, my mind drifted in one direction. Sienna. Her name appeared uninvited, clear and insi
Sienna's POV I open my eyes. No. This isn’t the time to drown in the past. I came here to rebuild my life, not to get tangled in an old story that may never be fixed.But I also can’t lie to myself. There’s something different about him. Whether it’s only my imagination or a real change in him—I don’t know. What I do know is that my body still trembles whenever I hear his name.I don’t want to give him false hope. But I also can’t tell him to stop—not because I like it, but because I don’t even know what I feel.The truth isn’t always yes or no. Sometimes the truth lives in the pause, in the hesitation, in the silence. That’s where I am now.I let out a long breath. If Liam truly wants to mend things, he’ll have to be patient. Because this time I won’t throw myself into the fire just because he claims the flames have gone out.I need to be sure first—that this wound is worth healing. That the one standing with him is a whole version of me, no
Sienna's POV I was still silent after sharing my worries with Liliana.“You’re human, Sienna. You’re allowed to hope. You’re allowed to be afraid. But you also have the right to be happy. If Liam truly has changed, and you feel there’s a small space to trust again then you’re allowed to try,” Liliana said, her voice tinged with concern.A small smile touched my lips, though tears threatened to fall. “Thank you.”“Always,” she replied softly. “But if he hurts you again, I’ll find him, drag him to the sea, and drown him against the reef.”I laughed, genuinely this time. “You’re so dramatic.”“But you still love him, don’t you?” she teased with a laugh.I rubbed my face. “I’m still learning to make peace.”That felt enough for the day.After ending the call with Liliana, I stared at the dimming screen of my phone. The call had been brief, yet it felt like opening a valve I had kept tightly shut. The feelings I had kept buried finally spilled out,
Sienna's POV Because if I were honest, I knew I could never truly shut Liam out completely. He was the wound that had never quite healed. And part of me still clung to the memories of what we once had.My gaze returned to the invitation lying on the table. Next week. There was still time.Maybe I would go. Maybe I wouldn’t.But at least now I knew Noah wanted me there. And that was enough to make me wonder if I was ready to open the door I had kept locked for so long.I picked up the invitation again, tracing the stiff edge of the paper with my fingertips. The print was simple, no elaborate flourishes—just the date, the place, the names of two people about to bind their lives on an important day. But for me, this piece of paper carried more weight than any ordinary invitation. It was a door. A door I could leave shut, or open just a crack, letting the past seep back in.Next week. It felt close, yet far enough to leave me restless each passing day unti
Sienna's POVI drew in a long breath and slowly sat back down on the chair. My hands clutched the coffee cup that had long gone cold. For some reason, the apartment felt emptier than usual. And I hated admitting that.I sat still at the dining table, still cluttered with the remnants of the breakfast Liam had brought earlier. The half-eaten sandwich had lost its warmth. The coffee in my cup was cold, its taste flat now. Yet I kept holding on to it, as if it were the only tangible thing I could cling to today.Liam’s words still echoed in my head. “I’ll come again, even if you keep driving me away.”Why didn’t he ever grow tired? Why did he keep coming, keep waiting, keep smiling, even though I had made it clear over and over that I didn’t want him here? Or maybe I was only pretending not to?I turned my face toward the window. The sea stretched out calm in the distance, the sky a cloudless blue hanging wide above, and the breeze carried its familiar briny s
Sienna's POV I stared at the table, tracing its spotless surface, noticing the faint ring left behind by the cooled cup of tea. That small detail only deepened my emptiness, as if I had to cling to trivial things just to avoid being swept away by a stronger current. A hidden longing stirred, one I refused to name a longing for a life that once felt so familiar, but had always been edged with thorns.Slowly, I realized how difficult it was to draw a sharp line between wanting to shut the door forever and wanting to leave it slightly open. His presence wasn’t wholly disturbing, but it didn’t bring comfort either. It felt like sitting between two worlds: the one that had ended, and the one that had yet to take shape.I finished the last of my breakfast halfheartedly, swallowing the cold tea. It was bitter, stinging against my tongue. And still, my eyes tried to avoid his figure. But in the silence, I only became more aware of how much space he filled. Even without words,