Amara noticed the air was softer one morning when she stepped outside looking warmer as if the city had decided to welcome her properly at last with the trees that was lining the path to her lecture hall started to bloom with petals scattered carelessly on the pavement. She paused to watch them for a moment while breathing in the calm she had fought so hard to earn.
She was no longer counting the days rather she realised what she has done.
Life had settled into a rhythm that felt earned and not borrowed that her classes challenged her in ways she loved and her professors and friends trusted her voice which had begun to feel less like strangers and more like anchors. She laughed more freely now without the constant ache beneath them.
Yet Nathaniel still existed in the quiet corners of her thoughts,not painfully nor obsessed but just honesty.
They carefully spoke occasional as if handling something fragile that neither of them wanted to break and there was no expectations nor promises rather just truth offered in measured pieces.
One evening, Amara worked late in the library, with her phone vibrating.
I need to tell you something that Nathaniel wrote.
Her chest tightened and her mind skipped a bit though she wasn't sure why it happened
Okay, she replied though with a longer beating pause this time around.
Selene and I have decided to end our engagement.
Amara stared at the words with her heart beating fast.
It wasn't relief she felt first but It was weight.
I didn't ask her to wait anymore, he continued. She deserves a life without doubt,
She swallowed.
Are you alright? she typed.
No, he answered honestly but I will be.
She leaned back in her chair as she closed her eyes briefly. The news carried no triumph, no sense of victory but only a quiet gravity that reminded her of how their free lives were and how many hearts that were involved.
I'm sorry for both of you, she said
Thank you, he replied, though I didn't tell you because I expected anything and I just didn't want you to hear it from someone else.
She appreciated that more than she could explain.
Back home, Selene packed her things with surprising calm and right now The decision had been mutual, spoken late one night when honesty finally outweighed fear.
"You love her" Selene said gently.
Nathaniel didn't denied it.
"And you love who you become with her and that matters a lot" she added.
Selene left with dignity intact and her future open with something Nathaniel respected deeply but ending the engagement hurt, but it also felt like truth was finally breathing out.
Weeks passed and Amara completed her final project with distinction. The praise she received felt earned and not accidental because she had grown into herself here, shaped by distance and choice.
The end of the program approached faster than she expected.
One afternoon, while walking along the river, she found out she was thinking about what has come e next. Returning home no longer felt like retreat rather It felt like continuation that can never be forgotten.
She sent Nathaniel a message she had been considering for days saying, "I'll be coming back soon"
He replied almost immediately she sent the message.
I know she said while smiling at its simplicity.
When Amara returned, the campus looked the same but felt different this time or maybe she was the one who had changed.
Nathaniel waited near the same oak tree where they had last said goodbye months ago. When she approached, he stood and was flickering briefly across his face.
"You're back" he said.
"Yes I am" she replied. They walked together across the campus but speaking easily now. There was no rush, nor dramatic confession rather just space for honesty.
"I don't want to pick up where we left off because that version of me doesn't exist anymore, Amara said as they stopped near the fountain.
"I wouldn't want that for her either rather I want to know who you are now" Nathaniel replied.
She studied him for a moment and said, And who are you now?
He smiled faintly and said "Someone who understands that love isn't possession but It's just a choice and a daily deliberate choice you could imagine"
The words settled between them, steady and sincere.
"I'm not promising anything" she said quietly.
"I'm not asking for promises but only honesty if U can grant me that,he answered.
She nodded and said "Then this is my honesty, I still care but I won't disappear into anyone's shadow again not even yours either"
"I wouldn't let you and I wouldn't want you to do that" he said.
They stood there near the campus that lives around them with students passing and laughter floating through the air but Life continuing, as it always did.
This time Nathaniel reached for her hand when she didn't hesitate.
Their fingers was intertwined naturally not as a declaration but as an agreement they would move forward slowly and eager intentionally together if they chose to be.
And for the first time, love didn't feel like something stolen or forbidden in the world we live, though love is a beautiful thing everyone in this world will love to experience in their life time before their departure. When I feel loved, u will be happy and glad to be in this world.