When ra woke up, everything outside her window was white. It was still snowing. She headed downstairs and saw Damon waiting by the curb.


    He moved toward her and reached for her luggage. His voice wasced with emotions too tangled to sort out. "It''s almost impossible to get a cab in this weather. Let me take you to the airport."


    This time, ra didn''t turn him down. She could tell he still had things he wasn''t saying. And after all, this really was a one-way trip. Some things needed to be put to rest.


    Once they were on the road, Damon drove painfully slow. Maybe it was the snow- covered streets, or he was just trying to stretch out the drive.


    Either way, they had plenty of time. So, ra stayed quiet as she watched the scenery pass by.


    The silence grew heavier with each passing second until Damon couldn''t take it anymore. He wanted to speak, to spill everything weighing on his heart, hoping somehow that it would make her stay.


    "ra, do you remember our second Christmas after we got married? It was snowing just as hard that year. My mom wasn''t doing well, so you took me to a church to pray for her.


    "I lit a candle and made a wish. Then, I cracked open a fortune cookie, and inside it read, ''May you find a love thatsts forever..."


    Hearing that, ra was pulled back to that distant moment. After Damon got the message, she remembered how the priest looked at them and said something cryptic.


    "Some things are meant to be, and some are meant to test us. But if you see the truth in time, it may turn out to be the greatest blessing."


    At the time, ra hadn''t really gotten what the priest meant. She''d thought he was giving her some advice and spent a long time trying to figure it out. After all, she''d wanted to spend the rest of her life with Damon.


    But looking back now, it was Damon who had opened the fortune cookie. The priest''s words hadn''t been for her. And back then, the person he''d wanted to grow old with... It wasn''t her, was it?


    ra chuckled at that thought and said, "I don''t really remember."


    Damon hesitated for a few seconds before quickly changing the subject mostly small, everyday. details from their married life things ra could barely remember. But he remembered everything.


    Without her realizing, he''d reyed those moments countless times over the past year. Now, he was hoping those cherished memories from their time together would light a spark in her.


    Yet ra''s face remained unreadable like she felt nothing for what was already gone. Before either of them knew it, they arrived at the airport.


    She grabbed her suitcase and started to walk away when Damon called after her. He handed her a small box and watched her with quiet hope.


    ra opened it to find a pair of bracelets-the ones Damon''s grandmother had worn every day. They were said to be the Croft family heirloom. Why was he giving them to her?


    "These are far too valuable for a farewell gift. I can''t ept them," she said.


    Damon was on the verge of losing hisposure after yet another rejection. His throat tightened, and desperation flickered across his face.


    "Please take them. This is what I want. It''s what my mom wanted, too," he said.


    ra shook her head gently. Her


    voice was t. "I know what this gift


    means That''s exactly why I can''t


    ept it. I''ve told you over and


    over Our story is over. It''s time we go back to where we belong.


    Each word cut deep into Damon.


    He stood in the snow, watching her walk away, step by step, without looking back Snowkes settled in turning white t was like


    his hair,


    quiet echo of the future he''d once imagined-growing old together.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!