Elena
"Are you sure we're allowed to be here?" I whispered, eyes wide as Zayden helped me over a low fence onto the private beach.
"No one's coming," he said with a smile, tugging me gently forward by the hand. "And even if they do, I'll just say I'm hopelessly in love and trespassing in the name of romance."
The stars stretched above us like a velvet curtain scattered with diamonds. The ocean murmured nearby, waves calm and rhythmic.
Zayden laid out a thick blanket, then set down a thermos and some snacks. "Welcome to item one on the list," he said. "Stargazing by the sea."
I blinked, surprised. "You… remembered that?"
"I remember everything about you."
He lay beside me, his hand finding mine. I could feel his heart beating fast, though his face stayed calm.
We lay in silence, wrapped in warmth, listening to the sea whisper to the stars. I snuggled closer, resting my head on his chest.
"What do you think happens after we die?" I asked softly.
Zayden froze—but only for a heartbeat. Then he stroked my hair gently. "We live on in every person we loved. In every night like this."
I closed my eyes.
If time was a thief, then tonight, we stole something back.
---
Meanwhile…
Noah frowned as he watched Elena's recent sketches from her Instagram story. They were softer, more melancholic. He tapped the image again and noticed the slight tremble in the pencil lines.
She hadn't replied to his messages in two days.
And the way she looked last week—thinner, quieter—something wasn't right.
He called Chloe.
"Am I crazy," he asked, "or is Elena hiding something?"
Chloe sighed. "You're not crazy. I've been feeling it too."
---
Zayden
I stepped outside the beach house after Elena fell asleep.
The stars were still watching. I didn't care.
My hands shook.
My chest felt like it was caving in.
I tried to stay strong for her. I had to. But tonight, after that question she asked, it all caught up to me.
I sat on the edge of the porch, head in my hands, silent tears cutting down my cheeks.
"One year," I whispered to the wind. "How am I supposed to let her go?"
I had everything—money, power, the world at my fingertips.
But I couldn't save the only person who made any of it worth it.
So I cried—quietly, bitterly—while she slept inside, dreaming of stars.
---
Back in the city…
Celeste scrolled through photos of Zayden and Elena at the lake house.
Her eyes narrowed.
"She's still ruining everything," she muttered.
But Celeste wasn't just angry anymore. She was planning something.
Something that would make Elena's time run out even faster.
---