Chapter 75: Confronting the Past

The air was thick with tension as I stood outside the small café, the one Lydia and I had frequented when we were younger, back before everything fell apart. The familiar sight of the old building with its ivy-covered walls did nothing to ease the storm swirling in my chest. I had asked Lydia to meet me here, to have one final conversation about everything that had happened between us. It had taken a long time to get to this point—the point where I could even entertain the idea of understanding her. But I had come to realize that holding on to the past, to the anger and resentment, would only chain me to it forever. I needed closure, not just for my sake, but for hers as well.