My heart cracks open inside my chest.
Lucien looks out across the cemetery for a moment before speaking again.
“In another life…” He pauses. Like the words themselves hurt to say. “In another life we find each other sooner.” His voice softens. “There’s no revenge. No ghosts. No past chasing us down.” He gives a faint, sad smile. “Just you and me… starting something that actually has a chance.”
The wind brushes through the grass around Clara’s grave.
Lucien turns toward me again.
“And if that life exists somewhere…” His voice lowers. “I’ll wait for it.”
My vision blurs with tears. He reaches out slowly. Then leans forward and presses a gentle kiss to my cheek. Like he already knows this is goodbye. A tear slips down my face as he pulls away. Because this is the part that hurts the most. Letting go of something that was real. But nevermeant to stay. I fell in love with Lucien but the life that exists outside this cemetery…
The one waiting for me beyond this moment…
Belongs to Era.
CHAPTER 27
Season
The sky is fading into evening as I drive. The road stretches ahead of me in long gray lines while the wind carries the first breath of autumn through the open window. Leaves drift down from the trees slowly. Like the world itself is letting go of something. One leaf tumbles across the windshield before the wind lifts it away again.
I watch them fall along the road. Golden, brown. Fading from the green they once were and for the first time, the sight doesn’t make me feel sad. Because fall was never meant to be the end of things. It’s the moment the tree lets go of what it can’t carry anymore. So something new can grow when the next season comes. Maybe life works the same way, maybe some parts of us have to fall away before we understand who we are becoming.
By the time I pull into the driveway, the sky has darkened. The house looks the same as it always has but something inside me feels different, lighter. I step out of the car and close the door gently behind me. Inside, the house is dim.
Still.
“Dominic?” I call softly.
No answer.
I move through the hallway, the familiar creak of the floor beneath my feet grounding me. The back door is slightly open. Cool evening air drifts in as I push it open and step outside. Dominic is sitting on one ofthe wooden chairs in the backyard. Facing the old oak tree near the fence. The same tree that’s been there since we moved into this house.
Its leaves are starting to turn now, scattered gold among the green. I walk toward him slowly. Something deep in my gut whispers a quiet truth. This isn’t finished yet. The truth still needs to come out.
And I’m waiting for him to tell me.
I sit down in the chair beside him. For a moment we just watch the tree together. The wind moves softly through its branches.
Dominic exhales.
“You remember when Era — when you tried to hang that ridiculous swing from that tree?” he says.
I glance at him.
He gives a faint smile.
“You insisted it would be romantic.” A small laugh escapes him. “The branch snapped in about ten seconds.” I smile despite myself. “And you blamed me for tying the knot wrong.” Dominic shakes his head. “I tied it exactly the way you told me to.”
The silence returns.
But this one feels different. Like we both know where the conversation is going. Dominic stares at the tree for a long time.
Then he finally speaks. “I was upset that night.”
His voice is strained. “I wanted to tell you everything.”