Atasha's POV;
The air was light that evening, but my heart felt the weight of everything unsaid.
We walked slowly—side by side—our steps careful, like the ground beneath us might crack with the wrong words.
He kept glancing at me, as if afraid I'd vanish again.
"Why are you staring at me?" I said, breaking the silence.
"just admiring the pretty eyes of yours." he replied quietly. "And I found it so perfect that I would definitely sink in it."said with a smirk in his face.
I stopped walking and turned to face him. "Are you flirting with me?"
He met my gaze. "Maybe!"
I found myself fluttered. I guessed maybe he's mischievous sparkle was returning which I secretly missed.
"Shameless you." I said. "Do you flirt with each girl you meet?"
He didn't flinch. "No, if it's not you then I don't."
A pause. The wind tugged gently at my scarf.
"You wanted second chance." I murmured. " I am willing to because I found you as someone who sees me, stays, and speaks the truth after my misunderstanding and even took the blame and here I'm so selfish that I gave a blame to you for my misunderstanding."
He nodded ," Thanks Selene, for giving me a second chance and one thing——You have full right to blame me because I was so confused at choosing you and my ex that I let you feel like an option."
I remained quite.
And we kept walking.
Not as lovers. Not yet.
But maybe, just maybe, as two people brave enough to begin again.
We didn't need a crowd. No dramatic announcements. Just us—beneath a setting sun, walking along the narrow cobbled paths that wound behind the gallery.
It was quiet here. The kind of quiet that held room for heavy thoughts and soft smiles. I liked that. I liked that I didn't have to perform strength in front of him anymore.
"I still sketch you sometimes," I admitted, my voice barely louder than the breeze.
He glanced sideways, a surprised softness in his eyes. "Really?"
"Not exactly you, but the idea of you. The way I remembered you when I missed you the most."
He stopped walking. I turned toward him, and for a moment, neither of us said anything. The silence wasn't awkward. It was thick with memory.
Antonio's POV
She'd drawn me. Thought about me. Even in the silence that stretched between us all those years.
How do you apologize for breaking a heart that still carried you in art?
"Can I see them one day?" I asked.
She nodded, her gaze slipping to the horizon. "Maybe. When I'm sure you won't disappear again."
Fair.
I had vanished. Not physically—but emotionally, when she needed something solid to hold onto. I'd chosen comfort, not courage. But now, I wanted nothing more than to be that anchor she didn't have back then.
Atasha's POV
He didn't push. That was new.
Before, he always filled silence with words or charm or a joke. Now, he let me lead. He walked beside me like a man trying to earn space, not demand it.
We sat on a bench under an old oak tree, the world melting into soft amber light.
"I used to dream about this," I said.
"Us?"
I nodded. "But in my dream, I always woke up before you could explain yourself."
He was quiet for a long moment.
"I don't want you to wake up this time," he whispered.
Antonio's POV
I reached for her hand—not with urgency, but with hope. She didn't pull away.
I held it gently, like something sacred. Because that's what this was. A second chance wasn't a guarantee. It was a gift.
And tonight, I wasn't going to ruin it with pressure or false promises.
I was going to let her see who I had become. Let her feel that even though I messed up in the past, this version of me—now—was someone who could love her the right way.
And I'd do it patiently.