The rain had stopped, but the air remained heavy, carrying the scent of wet earth and tension.
Elowen Aris Vale sat in her small apartment, staring at the letter Mirelle had placed on her table.
It was time.
The words she had avoided, the truths she had buried, now demanded attention.
Mirelle Cade sat across from her, hands clasped tightly, fingers trembling.
"Elowen… I should have told you sooner," she began, voice shaky.
"But I didn't know how. And I was afraid—afraid of what it would do to you, to Kaelen, to everyone."
Elowen's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Then tell me now."
Mirelle exhaled sharply, leaning forward. "The Vale family… your family has a past you don't know. It's connected to Selaris.
The things he's trying to reveal—they aren't random. They involve you, your history, and… consequences that have been waiting years to surface."
Elowen's hands shook as she unfolded the letter again, the words swimming before her eyes.
Every page, every line, exposed the fragility of the life she had thought she understood.
Kaelen Thorne arrived without warning, his coat dripping from the remnants of the storm outside.
His eyes immediately fell on the letter in Elowen's hands.
"Mirelle… what have you told her?" he demanded.
"Everything she needs to know," Mirelle replied firmly, refusing to back down.
Kaelen's jaw clenched.
"She's too young for this… too pure to bear the burden of our past mistakes."
Elowen's voice was steady, though her heart raced.
"Kaelen, I'm not a child. I can handle the truth. I need to hear it, and so do you."
The three of them sat in tense silence, the weight of unspoken histories pressing down. Kaelen looked at Elowen, guilt and fear etched into his features.
Selaris's earlier words echoed in her mind: Choose for yourself, not be trapped by shadows.
That evening, Selaris appeared at the apartment.
He was calm, but his presence was heavy, commanding attention without demanding it.
"Elowen," he said quietly, "I know Mirelle has told you something. I won't add to your burden. But know this—what you decide from here will shape the rest of your life."
Kaelen's hand twitched at his side.
"I won't let him speak to you like that," he said through clenched teeth.
Elowen raised a hand, silencing him. "Kaelen, please. Not now. I need to think. All of you—stop trying to control me. I need to face this myself."
The room was silent, the tension so thick it seemed to vibrate.
Mirelle's confession finally hit its mark. "Elowen… your family's past involved Selaris's family.Decisions, betrayals, things kept hidden for decades. He didn't come here by accident. And neither did Kaelen… the mistakes we've all made are interconnected. You're at the center."
Elowen's breath caught.
The weight of generations pressed on her, threatening to crush her.
Yet beneath it, a spark of clarity glimmered.
I cannot be a victim of the past.
I must act.
I must choose.
Kaelen:
I tried to shield her, to protect her from what I could not face myself.
I thought silence was safety. I thought avoidance was love.
But love is not silence. It is risk. It is truth.
And now… I fear it is too late.
Selaris's Monologue:
I came here to warn her, not to claim her heart.
But the truth is dangerous, and love is risk. Every step I take could hurt her.
Yet I cannot stop, for standing aside is a betrayal of what I owe her… and myself.
Elowen:
The past is not mine to undo, nor theirs to control.
I am the center of my own story.
And I will decide—not for Kaelen, not for Selaris, not for Mirelle—but for me.