The envelope was tucked inside her locker.
No name. Just her.
She almost missed it.
Almost walked right past it.
But something—something invisible and aching—made her pause.
The moment she unfolded the letter, her breath hitched.
Her eyes recognized the handwriting.
Rylan's.
Her fingers trembled as she opened it.
And then…
She read.
---
"Ava,
I promised myself I'd never write this.
But I also promised myself I'd never love anyone the way I loved you.
I've broken both.
This isn't a confession. You already know how I feel.
This is… a goodbye.
Loving you was never hard.
The hardest part was knowing you were never really mine to begin with.
I was the quiet constant. The shoulder. The back-up plan when everything else fell apart.
But I never wanted to be the one you needed only when the world hurt you.
I wanted to be the one you chose—when it didn't.
I've watched you fall in and out of love with someone else.
I've watched you cry for him, ache for him, shatter for him.
And I stood there—always—pretending it didn't kill me every single time.
But I'm not pretending anymore.
You deserve your happiness, Ava.
Even if it's not with me.
Even if it never was.
But please, don't forget me.
Don't forget the man who loved you with everything he had.
Quietly.
Completely.
And without asking for anything in return.
I hope when you smile at him, it feels lighter now.
I hope when he holds you, you feel safe.
And I hope when you look at him, it's the kind of look I dreamed of getting from you just once.
Maybe in another life…
I'd be the one who got your first glance.
Not your last goodbye.
But in this one—I'm walking away.
Because love…
Love isn't supposed to make you feel like you're constantly not enough.
And I need to learn how to stop bleeding for someone who was never holding the knife.
So this is me letting go.
Not because I stopped loving you.
But because I finally love myself enough to know I deserve more than almosts and maybes.
You will always be a part of me, Ava.
But I can't be the shadow in your story anymore.
Goodbye,
Rylan Vale"
---
Her eyes blurred before she reached the last line.
The paper trembled in her hands.
She clutched it to her chest, as if holding the words closer would bring him back.
But he was gone.
Gone with every unsaid thing.
Gone with every silent night he sat by her side, loving her in the dark.
And this time, it was her heart breaking.
Because she finally realized—
She lost the one person who loved her… even when she didn't know how to love herself.