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🌙 Chapter 15 – Losing to Find
Sometimes, staying meant stepping away.
Noah Watson realized that on the morning Luca Fernandes left.
Not forever.
Not angrily.
Just… intentionally.
He stood near the door with his bag, dressed simply, like someone who didn't want the moment to feel bigger than it already was. The house watched in silence.
"I'll be back," Luca said to everyone—but his eyes found Noah.
She nodded. "I know."
That was the thing.
They didn't need promises anymore.
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Life without Luca's presence was quieter than Noah expected.
Not emptier.
Just clearer.
She spent more time with Sofia—late-night talks, honest laughs. She helped Eva and Emily with things she had once ignored. She listened more. To herself most of all.
Some evenings, she missed Luca painfully.
Other days, she felt strong without him.
And that mattered.
"You're different," Sofia said one night as they sat on the terrace.
Noah smiled. "I think I'm finally mine."
Sofia hugged her tightly. "That's how it should be."
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Elsewhere, Luca was learning too.
He stayed close to family, talked when silence tempted him, confronted guilt instead of running from it. Adrien joined him one evening, handing him coffee.
"She's growing," Adrien said.
"So am I," Luca replied.
Adrien smiled. "Good. Then if you meet again… it won't be broken people holding on."
Luca nodded. "That's the hope."
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Alina left quietly.
No confrontations.
No apologies.
She didn't win—but she didn't lose loudly either.
Some villains fade when attention stops feeding them.
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Weeks passed.
Then one evening, Noah received a message.
Luca:
I've learned how to stay. Even when it's hard.
She stared at the screen for a long moment.
Then typed back.
Noah:
I've learned how to choose myself. Even when it hurts.
She smiled.
Because losing each other for a while
had helped them find the parts they needed most.
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🤍✨ Final chapter next: