the book of promise

(Sub ending)

—

Years passed, and the old book, once a painful reminder of a broken promise, became something far more meaningful. After that day, Ethan and Lily made it a tradition to read the book together. Every time they revisited it, they left notes in the margins—small scribbles about their lives, inside jokes, and memories they wanted to hold onto. The book became a chronicle of their journey together, marking moments of happiness, challenges, and everything in between.

It wasn’t long before they were married, and the book remained with them, collecting the story of their lives. They wrote in it after the birth of their children, after their first big move, and after every milestone that mattered to them. The book, once a novel, had transformed into a family heirloom.

Decades later, the book found itself in the hands of their grandchildren. Sitting in their grandparents’ living room, the children carefully turned the fragile pages, reading the notes left behind by the couple who had once feared they’d lost each other.

“Look at this,” the eldest grandchild said, pointing to a passage written in faded ink. “It’s from Grandpa. He wrote, ‘This is the part where I realized I couldn’t live without her.’”

The younger sibling leaned in, eyes wide with fascination. “And here,” they added, running a finger along a different note, “Grandma wrote, ‘He may have broken my heart for a while, but he was always the one.’”

As the grandchildren read, they felt the weight of their grandparents’ love, a bond that had been tested, strengthened, and nurtured over a lifetime. The margins of the book were filled with memories—doodles, notes about their family trips, and even little moments of bickering that had later turned into laughter.

At the end of the novel, in the final pages, they found a passage written in the same old ink, a message left by Ethan and Lily for future generations:

"For those who come after us: Love, like life, isn’t always easy, but it’s worth fighting for. This book began as a promise and ended as our story. May it guide you to write your own."

The grandchildren smiled softly as they closed the book, knowing that they held more than just a story in their hands. They held the legacy of a love that had spanned generations—one that began with a promise, was tested by time, and endured forever