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I find it.

I nod slowly, exhaling. “I’ve spent this month apart thinking about what I want. Really thinking.”

Graham’s lips press into a line like he’s bracing for something he won’t like. “And?”

I hesitate, then say the only truth I know.

“I want you.”

His breath hitches.

“I don’t know how to make this work, and I don’t know if it even can work,” I continue, my voice softer now. “But I know that no matter how many times we try to walk away, it never sticks.”

Graham stares at me, his expression unreadable.

Then, finally⁠—

“I’ve been thinking too,” he says, his voice rough.

I blink. “You have?”

He nods, shifting forward, his forearms braced on his knees. “I’ve spent a month trying to convince myself I can let you go. That it would be easier that way.”

He drags a hand through his hair, his eyes locking onto mine.

“It’s not.”

I inhale sharply, my heart slamming against my ribs.

Graham exhales, shaking his head. “I don’t know how to move forward either, Ana. But I know I want to.”

My throat tightens.

Because there it is.

The terrifying, impossible, undeniable truth we’ve been circling for months.

We want each other.

We just don’t know how to make it work.

Not yet.

I let out a shaky breath, nodding slowly. “Okay.”

Graham watches me for a long moment.

Then—

“We’ll figure it out,” he murmurs. “One way or another.”

His words shouldn’t make me feel lighter.

They shouldn’t make me feel hopeful.

But somehow, they do.

Because for the first time, we’re not fighting.

We’re not pretending this doesn’t matter.

We’re choosing to try.

And maybe—just maybe⁠—

That’s enough.

For now.