Chapter 6 SIX (END)

Morning sunlight filtered through the window, soft and golden. For the first time in days, Amara noticed how it warmed the walls, how it lit up the little dust particles in the air like stars waiting to be seen.

She stood barefoot in the kitchen, the letter from Daniel now folded and tucked away in a drawer not forgotten, but no longer defining her.

Levi had left hours ago, giving her space. But not without leaving something behind: his number scribbled on a sticky note, and five words she couldn't stop hearing in her head.

You're allowed to start over.

She poured herself coffee. This time, she drank it.

There was no dramatic moment of healing, no instant erasure of the pain. The ache was still there sharp at the edges, dull in the center but something had shifted. The weight was no longer suffocating. It was just... present. Manageable.

She walked to the mirror by the hallway, the one she used to avoid. Her eyes met her own reflection; tired, yes, but alive. There was power in seeing herself and not flinching.

She whispered the words slowly, as if saying them made them real.

I'm still here"

Not broken.

Not abandoned.

Just... rebuilding.

The phone buzzed on the counter. A message from Levi.

You don't have to be okay today. Just be honest. I'm here.

She smiled. Not because she needed saving but because she finally understood:

She could save herself.

And maybe, just maybe, love didn't have to be the thing that broke her.

It could be what helped her begin again.

The End.