Chapter 10: New Colors
1401 Words
Chapter 10: New Colors
Aria hadn’t touched a paintbrush in almost two years.
It sat there on her desk, dusty and forgotten, beside the old sketchbook filled with half-finished portraits — eyes without faces, smiles without names.
Art had once been her escape, her language, her home. But somewhere between heartbreaks and betrayals, she’d forgotten how to speak it.
After the reunion, things shifted. Subtly, quietly — like dawn seeping into a dark room. She spent the next few weeks reflecting, journaling, deleting old photos she’d clung to for too long. Each time she let something go, she felt lighter, like she was peeling off someone else’s skin to find her own beneath it.
It wasn’t Taylor’s absence she missed anymore. It was the version of herself she’d lost loving him.
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A Visit
One Saturday morning, as sunlight spilled lazily through her curtains, her phone buzzed.
Damien: “Coffee at the Art Hall? 10 a.m.? I owe you one for listening to my bad jokes last time.”
Aria smiled. “Make it 10:30. I need to find my courage first.”
She arrived right on time — hair tied up, sketchbook in hand for the first time in years. Damien was already there, sitting by the window with two cups of coffee and that warm, patient smile that somehow made her nervous and calm at once.
“Look who decided to bring her magic back,” he said, nodding toward the sketchbook.
“Don’t jinx it,” she teased, sitting down. “It’s just… an experiment.”
“Everything beautiful starts that way,” he said softly.
They talked for hours — about art, college life, growing pains, and how nostalgia can be both poison and medicine. Aria found herself laughing freely, not the careful, performative laugh she used to wear like armor, but something real.
When the rain started outside, they didn’t move. They just sat there, watching droplets race down the glass, surrounded by the hum of espresso machines and soft music.
“You know,” Damien said, turning toward her, “you don’t need closure from him anymore.”
Aria tilted her head. “How do you know?”
“Because you stopped saying his name like it still hurts.”
She blinked — realizing he was right.
As they sipped their coffee ,a charming and handsome guy walked to Aria ,and asked for her number ,she was hesitant buy she gave it to him...
Damien looked away with jealousy and anger
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The Gallery
A few weeks later, Damien invited her to an art exhibit downtown. He was interning there, helping curate local student artists. Aria almost said no — until he mentioned something that made her heart flutter and ache at once.
“They’re looking for a few more submissions,” he’d said. “You should send something.”
“I haven’t painted in forever.”
“Then maybe forever ends now.”
So she did.
For days, she stayed up late sketching, painting, erasing, repainting — rediscovering the rhythm she’d lost. Her first piece was a portrait: a faceless girl surrounded by swirling color, one hand holding a broken brush, the other reaching toward the light.
She titled it “Becoming.”
When she submitted it, she didn’t expect much. But a week later, she got the message: Accepted.
She stared at the email for minutes before whispering to herself,
> “Maybe I’m still meant to create after all.”
Meanwhile ,the man kept texting her ,asking to meet and all .so she accepted his offer for a dinner date. She just did it because she felt like giving him a chance .....At 8:00pm she dressed in a beautiful and elegant dinner wear with gold jewellery adorning her neck and her hair in an updo.
When she got to the restaurant, je was already seated in a beautiful and private space reserved for the two of them.
He gave her the lilies he got for her .She squealed in excitement, she thought about how she never gave love any chance.
They spoke for hours, he laughed at Aria's jokes .The manager came to tell them that its past their closing time and they laughed and stood up to leave .
He offered to drive her home and she said okay .
On the drive home she judged his music choices .He bought her icecream and snacks on the way home .she smiled and thank him .She looked at how charming and gorgeous he looked but Damien was more handsome and kind .He helped her through it all. The sudden halt disrupted her thoughts, they were at her home .He opened the door for her like the gentleman he is and helped her down.He then gave her a kiss on her check .She was flustered a Little bit .They said their goodbyes and parted ways .She went to bed happy thinking about the night.
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The Night of the Exhibit
The gallery smelled of paint and perfume. Aria stood by her canvas, wearing a soft blue dress that reminded her of the sea — the same sea that had witnessed both her pain and her healing.
Gold, Ursula, and Calvin came to support her. Maya texted a simple “Proud of you, Aria 💛” — and though they hadn’t talked deeply since the reunion, Aria appreciated it more than she could say.
Even Selly showed up. She didn’t approach, didn’t speak — just looked at the painting for a long time before leaving quietly. Aria felt no bitterness, only peace. Some stories didn’t need a sequel.
And then Damien appeared, hands in his pockets, smiling like he’d known this moment would come all along.
“It’s perfect,” he said, standing beside her. “She looks like you.”
“She is me,” Aria admitted. “Or at least, the version of me that survived everything.”
He nodded, eyes warm. “I’m glad she did.”
How was your date...he asked with a hint of jealousy and pain. It was great ,Aria squealed.She told him how the night went and he just stood there in silence whilst he listened, surrounded by murmurs and art and the hum of new beginnings.
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After the Exhibit
Later that night, after everyone had left and the streets were quiet, Aria and Damien walked along the city square. Fairy lights glowed overhead, reflecting in puddles from the earlier rain.
“I never thanked you,” she said softly. “For reminding me who I was.”
Damien smiled. “You don’t owe me thanks. You just needed someone to remind you you’ve always been more than what broke you.”
They stopped at the bridge overlooking the river. The moon shimmered on the water like liquid silver.
“Do you ever think about the people we used to love?” Aria asked.
“Sometimes,” he admitted. “But mostly I think about the people we still have time to love.”
Her breath caught. The air between them shifted — gentle, electric.
“Damien…” she whispered, unsure if she should give him a chance,deep down she know he would treat her right .....
He reached out, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “You don’t have to say anything. Just… be here.”A jolt or a shiver ran through me.
And she was. For the first time in years, she wasn’t haunted by ghosts or chasing what-ifs. She was standing in the present — steady, alive, hopeful.
The night breeze carried the scent of rain and possibility. Aria leaned her head on Damien’s shoulder, watching the city lights blur into colors — warm, wild, new.
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Epilogue of a Moment
That night, when she got home, she placed her old sketchbook beside her new one.
The first page of the new book held a single line of writing:
> “Sometimes you lose yourself in love.
But sometimes, love helps you find yourself again.”
Aria smiled, set her brush in a jar of water, and opened a blank page.
There was no fear this time — only excitement. She received a text from that guy saying they should meet up and she politely told him she likes someone else after much deliberation,that she didn't want to play with his feelings and that they can be friends .
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- Writer
