The house was quiet again, save for the soft crackle of the dying embers in the fireplace. The storm had passed, leaving the world outside drenched in moonlight and mist.
Sarah sat on the floor, her knees drawn to her chest, staring at the place where Hal had fallen apart. The air felt different now. Lighter. But also heavier, as though the space between her and Ace had shifted in ways she couldn't explain.
Ace sat beside her, his arm around her shoulders. He didn't speak. Neither of them did.
They didn't need to.
"I thought I'd never be free of him," Sarah said quietly, breaking the silence at last. "That he would haunt me forever."
Ace's hand tightened slightly on her arm, a steadying presence. "He almost did."
"I don't know how to let it go," she admitted, her voice cracking. "How to leave him in the past."
Ace turned to her, his eyes dark but soft. "You don't. You carry him with you. But you don't let him control you. Not anymore."
She looked at him then, truly looked—seeing not just the man beside her, but the man who had stood by her even when she couldn't stand for herself. The man who had always known what she was capable of, even when she didn't.
"You're sure about this?" she asked.
He smiled faintly. "You think I would've done all that just to let you go?"
For the first time that night, something in Sarah's chest loosened. A breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
"I don't know what comes next," she said softly, her fingers brushing his. "But I'm ready to find out. With you."
Ace's hand slid into hers, firm and warm. "We'll face it together."
The house, once filled with darkness and secrets, felt like something different now. Something alive. Not just with the echoes of their past, but with the possibility of what they could build together.
The storm was gone. The shadows no longer chased them.
And for the first time in a long time, Sarah felt like she could breathe.