Chapter 15
460 Words
The email came on a Monday.
Fiona almost deleted it, thinking it was spam. But the subject line stopped her heart.
> Congratulations, Fiona Mike— You’ve Been Selected.
It was the international creative writing fellowship she’d applied to a year ago on a dare from her roommate. She’d forgotten all about it. A six-month residency in Paris. All expenses paid. A chance to write, to be mentored, to live.
Six months.
Another continent.
No Jared.
She sat at her desk for an hour before telling anyone.
And when she finally did, it was Liam she called first.
“Paris?” he said, voice catching with excitement. “That’s… Fiona, that’s huge.”
“I know.” Her voice was calm, but her chest felt tight. “It doesn’t feel real.”
“Because it’s the first thing that’s been just yours in a long time.”
She smiled faintly. “Yeah.”
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Telling Jared was harder.
He was in the middle of planning their weekend trip to the lake—something small, just the two of them—when she told him.
He blinked. “Wait, Paris? As in… France?”
She nodded, watching his expression change.
“For six months,” she added.
He sat down slowly, like the weight of it had just hit.
“Wow. That’s amazing. I mean, really… wow.”
“You’re okay?”
“Am I okay?” he repeated, almost to himself. “I’m proud of you, Fiona. I am. But I’d be lying if I said this doesn’t feel like I’m losing you.”
“You’re not,” she said quickly. “But maybe this is something I need to do alone.”
Jared nodded, but she could see the storm behind his eyes.
“Would you wait?” she asked gently.
He looked up.
“Would you wait for me to come back?”
There was a long silence.
Then he stood and walked to her, wrapping her in a quiet, desperate hug.
“I’d wait a lifetime if I knew you’d still come home to me,” he whispered.
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The next morning, Fiona bought a journal with a red leather cover.
On the first page, she wrote:
> “To the girl who once thought she had to chase love to matter—
Look at you now. Running toward yourself instead.”
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Fiona would go to Paris.
And Jared—he’d stay, heart open, waiting with the kind of love that didn’t cage her, but carried her.
She didn’t know what would happen in six months. Whether they’d be stronger. Whether time would blur what they had.
But for once, that didn’t scare her.
Because whatever happened, she was no longer afraid of choosing herself.
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- Writer
