Alina’s POV
Yet, my fingers trembled as I opened it. Inside lay the ring - a delicate band with a tiny diamond, the same one Sebastian had once discarded. I held it, turning it over in my hands, feeling the weight of the past and the promise of the future.
He watched me carefully, silent, patient. “I fixed it,” he said quietly. “Not because I expect you to wear it, but because I want you to have it… if and when you’re ready.”
I felt the ache of memory of everything that had been lost and broken, of the nights I had cried alone, of the choices I had made to protect Leo.
I did not speak. I simply held the ring, turning it slowly, feeling the smooth metal against my palm.
That evening, we ate dinner together on the porch. The sky was painted with stars, scattered and bright above the wav
