Chapter 29: A Midnight Conversation

That night, unable to sleep, I stepped out onto the hotel balcony. To my surprise, Mahiru was already there, gazing at the moonlit ocean.

"You couldn't sleep either?" I asked, standing beside her.

She shook her head. "Too many thoughts."

I frowned. "Anything bothering you?"

She hesitated before speaking. "Amane… do you ever think about the future?"

I blinked. "Of course. But why do you ask?"

She played with a strand of her hair. "I just… I hope we'll always be together, no matter what happens."

I turned to face her fully. "Mahiru, there's no 'what if.' I'm not going anywhere."

Her eyes softened, and she leaned into me. "Thank you."

We stood there in comfortable silence, listening to the waves crash against the shore, knowing that whatever the future held, we'd face it together.