A Stolen Fate
he offers, the lightness back in his voice, though something more complicated lingers in his eyes.
I accept gratefully, and we sprint back along the bank, our rhythm finding itself again. But something has shifted, a truth acknowledged that we will both pretend to forget in the days that follow.
We never speak of that moment again. We continue our games, our races, and our easy friendship. But sometimes I catch him watching me when he thinks I am not looking. And sometimes, in the darkest nights when Miles feels more like a memory than a promise, I wonder what might have been if I had met Yuri first, if there had been no necklace around my neck or no vow to keep.