Walking away didn’t always mean leaving.
Sometimes, it meant staying long enough to admit that love alone wasn’t enough to save you.
⸻
The morning after the courthouse felt unreal.
The city moved on as if nothing had happened.
Cars honked.
Students rushed to class.
Coffee shops buzzed with normalcy.
But Ava Montgomery felt like she had stepped out of a storm into unfamiliar sunlight—too bright, too quiet, too exposed.
She stood in the kitchen, staring at the window, hands wrapped around a mug she hadn’t realized had gone cold.
Behind her, Jaxon sat on the couch, elbows on his knees, head bowed.
Neither of them spoke.
They didn’t know how.
The war had ended.
And now there was space.
Space was dangerous.
⸻
“I think…” Jaxon finally said, voice low, “…I should move out for a w
