CHAPTER 8: Shadows of the Past

Perfect. Here's Chapter 8 of My Heart by ROMOBUS, and this time we delve into Calvin's past, bringing clarity to

---

Chapter 8: Shadows of the Past

Flashback — Three Years Ago

It was Calvin's final year of high school, and the weight of being "the perfect one" pressed hard on his shoulders. Good grades. Team captain. Polite. Reliable.

His girlfriend at the time, Zoey, had once said, "You're easy to love, Calvin. But hard to know."

He hadn't understood that then.

But he did now.

Back then, he never argued. Never raised his voice. When things got hard, he got quieter. And eventually, Zoey left—not angry, just tired.

"You don't trust me with the messy parts," she had said, tearful. "I want the whole of you, not just the good parts."

But Calvin hadn't known how. He'd grown up watching his parents hide everything behind smiles and silence. Real emotion, in their house, was weakness.

So he stayed silent until it was too late.

---

Now

Sitting under a campus oak tree, Calvin stared at a journal in his lap—his own handwriting filling the pages. He hadn't shown anyone the book. Until now.

Daisy sat beside him, curious but quiet.

"I used to think staying calm meant staying in control," he said. "But maybe I was just hiding."

Daisy looked at the journal. "You're not hiding now."

"No," he said. "I'm choosing to be seen."

He handed the journal to her. Just like that.

She held it with gentle hands, understanding the weight of what he was offering—his words, his wounds, his truth.

"I won't break it," she said softly.

"I know," Calvin replied.

---

Meanwhile — Lina & Marcus

Lina and Marcus crossed paths at a poetry night on campus, both there alone. She raised an eyebrow when she saw him.

"You're the famous brother," she said.

"And you're the friend Daisy listens to more than anyone."

They shared a drink, some banter, and an odd sense of familiarity.

"She's changing," Lina said of Daisy.

"So is he," Marcus said of Calvin.

Lina nodded. "Maybe together they'll become who they were always scared to be."

---