For the first time in a long time, Elara was truly alone. No Liam to fill the silence, no warm presence to distract her from the emptiness inside. The loneliness was different now. Before, it had been a dull ache. Now, it was unbearable.

Days turned into weeks. She wandered through the apartment, surrounded by relics of a love that no longer existed. The photograph of Mark on her nightstand seemed to mock her. The bracelet on her wrist felt heavier than ever. And the more she sat with herself, the more she realized how much she had been clinging to something that wasn't there anymore.

One evening, she returned to the seaside cafe alone. The same spot where she and Liam had shared so many moments. She traced patterns on the wooden table, remembering his laughter, his kindness, his unwavering patience. And for the first time, she saw him not as a replacement for Mark, but as the man who had loved her when she had been too broken to love him back.

Elara made a decision that night. A painful, necessary one.

She let Liam go.

Not because she didn't care, but because he deserved someone who could love him fully. And she needed to find herself before she could give her heart to anyone again.