Page 240 of Fractured Devotion
He grins, standing with easy grace, his hand catching mine before I can pull away.
We slip out of the office, leaving Mara in charge for a while. She winks as we pass, already settled behind her desk.
Outside, the air is warm, the sun high and bright.
We walk down the street toward the little cafe that opened a block away.
Everything feels different today.
Not just the letter.
Not just the clinic.
Everything.
As we settle at a table under the shade, Alec watches me with a softness I never used to believe he was capable of.
“You look lighter,” he says, his hand curling around mine on the table.
“I feel it,” I admit.
And it’s true.
There are still scars. Still shadows.
But for once, they don’t weigh me down.
They simply exist, part of the landscape, but not the horizon.
We order simple food, nothing extravagant, and as we eat, we talk about the future.
About the clinic.
About the patients we want to help.
About trips we’ll take when we can finally step away from it all.
And every word feels easy. Every plan feels possible.
We aren’t building toward survival.
We’re just building.
Together.
Epilogue – Celeste - The Ones Who Stayed
Six months later.
The sea air is sharp but clean as it drifts through the open windows, carrying the scent of salt and fresh jasmine from the garden.
I sit at the edge of the clinic’s garden patio with a steaming cup of tea in hand, watching the sun rise over the waves.
We built this new clinic by the coast, tucked in a serene town where life drifts at an easy pace.
It suits me.
It suits all of us.
