The small town was pretty, but prettiness did not fill empty stomachs.
It took less than a week for Ethan and Christiana to learn how hard life was outside the mansion. They were able to secure a small one-room apartment above a bakery, rent cheap but walls thin and draftee. At night, the cold crept in, and they huddled close beneath a threadbare blanket.
Ethan was soon working on a construction site, his hands red from cement-mixing and brick-carrying. Christiana, who had never in her life worked, began helping the baker downstairs. She rose before daylight, covered in flour, kneading dough until her arms ached.
There were nights that exhaustion pulled them down. Times when supper was bread and water. And times when Christiana's heart was whispered to by doubts: Did we do the right thing in leaving the luxury of the mansion behind?
One evening, after Ethan returned home with sore muscles and a cut in his palm, Christiana could not take it anymore. She put a cloth on his wound, crying down her face.
"Ethan… this is too hard. You're suffering because of me," she whispered.
Ethan took her hand, his eyes determined in spite of his exhaustion. "No, Christiana. I made the decision. I'd suffer a thousand times if it means I get to wake up next to you every morning. Never think you're the cause of my pain—you're the reason I survive it."
Her heart trembled at his words. She held him close, as though afraid the world would snatch him from her.
They argued, yet their love was genuine as well. And the small town, bit by bit, began to accept them. The baker liked Christiana's gentleness and promised to teach her everything she needed to know in the trade. The workers admired Ethan's work ethic and honesty, even offering him odd jobs to earn a little extra.
It was not the life of shimmering chandeliers and limitless wealth. It was harder, edgier. But it was theirs.
And every day that passed, Ethan and Christiana learned that love wasn't just about the sweet times. It was also about weathering storms together, celebrating little victories, and praying that tomorrow would be kinder.