13/06/2025
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ | ๐ฎ๐๐๐
๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
The garden stood still as if holding its breath for them.
Marigolds bowed gently in the breeze, their golden heads nodding like quiet witnesses. The air was soft with the scent of earth and dusk, and above them, fairy lights trembled into life, catching in the strands of Sereneโs hair like fireflies reluctant to leave.
Under an arch that Drix had built with his own handsโuneven, a little too tall, wrapped in ivy and gentle lightโhe waited. There was no music. No crowd. Just her, stepping forward in a white linen dress that fluttered around her knees like a secret, her bare feet silent against the grass.
When she reached him, Drix exhaled as though heโd been holding that breath since he first met her.
โYouโre here,โ he said simply.
โI always was,โ Serene whispered back.
He reached into his pocket and drew out a ringโsimple, unpolished, with the faintest groove etched along its band like a quiet signature. Her eyes widened, not with surprise, but with recognition.
Drix took her hand, his thumb grazing the back of her fingers like a prayer. โIโve kept it since then,โ he said, voice low. โWaiting for the moment youโd stay.โ
Her breath trembled as he slid the ring onto her fingerโno fanfare, no crowd, just a garden and a promise and the weight of everything they'd ever been.
Then he unfolded a small piece of paper, weathered at the edges. But when he spoke, his voice was steady.
โSerene,โ he began, โyou are the quiet I didnโt know I needed. The soft edge in a loud world. I promise to choose you in the pauses and the chaos. To listen, to learn, to laugh with youโeven when we donโt have the words. Youโre not just the love of my life. Youโre the life in my love.โ
Her eyes shimmered, and she blinked once, then again, as though anchoring herself in the moment.
She took a breath.
โDrix. I used to think love had to be loud to be real. Grand. Sweeping. But you showed me it could be gentle, constantโa hand reaching for mine in the quiet. I vow to stayโwhen the skies are clear and when they break. To believe in you. In us. In this garden, where everything begins again.โ
Their fingers stayed locked. The ring glinted softly, catching the light like a secret the garden had always known.
Above them, the lights swayed. Around them, the earth listened.
And between them, love stoodโrooted and real.
โ
โMiss?โ A voice cut through the stillness. โAre you okay?โ
Serene blinked.
A stranger stood beside her, concerned. The garden was quietโreal this time. No lights. No Drix. Only ivy trailing down the arch like tired hands, petals scattered like broken promises.
Her eyes dropped to her hand.
The ring was still there.
Simple. Unpolished. The groove still caught the light like a memory that wouldnโt leave.
โIโIโm fine,โ she said, stepping back. Her voice sounded like it had traveled a long way to find her.
It had been a month since the breakup. A month since Drix had walked away, the paper unread, the vows unsaid.
And still, she wore the ring. Not because she was waiting. But because letting go took time.
She left the garden slowly, the hush behind her not holding its breath this time.
Just exhaling.
Like it finally understood.
