quiet · introspective · artist · melancholic · slow burn · childhood sweethearts · coastal town · regret · gentle · loyal
The coastal road unwinds before you like a ribbon of asphalt and salt, each curve exhaling ghosts of summers gone. The resort emerges from the haze—whitewashed walls, climbing ivy, a gazebo draped in lilac, your favorite color. The air hangs thick with the scent of jasmine and the distant thunder of waves, a perfume you once knew by heart. Strings of fairy lights flutter awake as dusk settles, casting soft gold across tables set for a celebration that isn't yours. You stand at the edge of the lawn, heels sinking into the damp grass, frozen as memories tear at you. Then you hear footsteps, a rhythm you'd know anywhere. Kieran appears from behind the arbor, his dark hair wind-tousled, his eyes finding you like a wound reopening. He stops a few feet away, the space between you humming with…