Almost, Always

Elena didn't stop him.

She didn't book a flight.

She didn't beg him to stay.

Instead, she let the moment stretch across cities, across time zones, letting her love for Aidan evolve from something desperate and immediate… to something patient and enduring.

Back in Havenbrook, Aidan stood at the terminal gate. Florence was boarding. His suitcase felt heavier than the weight limit, but it was his heart that carried the true burden. He glanced back one last time, half-expecting her to be there.

She wasn't.

And that was okay.

In the months that followed, their lives unfolded like pages in separate books written by the same author. Elena started a design blog that took off. Her raw entries about failure, burnout, and rediscovering creativity resonated with thousands.

Aidan, meanwhile, painted in Florence with a fury the locals admired. His pieces sold. Galleries took notice. But even as he stood among critics and collectors, he thought of the girl who believed in him when no one else did.

They didn't talk every day anymore. Sometimes, a week passed. Then two.

But when they did speak, it was never awkward. Just… real.

One rainy evening, Elena received a package.

Inside: a canvas.

It was her. Again.

But this time she was smiling—face turned to a dawn-lit sky, eyes closed in contentment.

No words.

Just a note, written in Aidan's unmistakable scrawl:

"Almost, always. And maybe again."