CHAPTER 10: Rediscovering The Spark

Back in the snowy town, Luna and Liam settle into the tentative rhythm of rebuilding their connection. While their moments together are lighthearted—like playful snowball fights and Liam's failed attempts at making gourmet hot chocolate—there are moments of raw vulnerability.

Luna finally opens up about the guilt she carries from leaving Austin, the fear of making the wrong choice, and her doubts about whether she deserves a second chance at happiness. Liam listens, his humor a balm to her self-doubt, but even he can't hide his own fears of losing her again.

One night, they revisit the ridge where they first saw the northern lights. The conversation takes a bittersweet turn when Liam reveals that his decision to reconnect wasn't as impulsive as Luna believed—it was motivated by a recent health scare.

"I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to feel sorry for me," Liam says quietly, his eyes fixed on the horizon. "But it made me realize how short life is. And I couldn't go through it knowing I never tried to get you back."

Luna is shaken by the revelation, the weight of their rekindled romance suddenly much heavier.

Back in town, Luna stumbles upon an old letter in Liam's apartment while searching for a pen. The letter, written in Liam's handwriting, is addressed to someone named "Claire."

The contents of the letter hint at a complicated relationship Liam never mentioned—a love that ended tragically years before he reconnected with Luna. In it, Liam writes about his regret, his mistakes, and his hope to find peace.

Luna confronts Liam, who reluctantly tells her the story: Claire was his high school sweetheart, someone he loved deeply but lost due to his own immaturity and indecision. The guilt of not fighting for her stayed with him, and it's part of why he couldn't let Zoe go when he had the chance.

"It's not that you remind me of her," Liam says. "It's that I don't want to make the same mistake twice."

Luna is torn. Is Liam truly in love with her, or is she a way for him to redeem himself from his past?

Amidst the tension, Luna decides they need a break from the heaviness of their emotions. She convinces Liam to join her in a ridiculous winter festival competition, where the two enter a sledding race and an amateur snow sculpture contest.

The sledding race ends in disaster when Liam's competitive streak leads them to crash into a snowbank, leaving both of them covered in frost and laughing uncontrollably. Their snow sculpture—a crooked snowman with lopsided eyes—is so terrible that it wins the "Most Unintentionally Funny" prize.

In the chaos, Luna realizes how much she missed laughing with someone who truly understands her.