The Way We Mend | Book 1 | Author AifiHwa

"I didn't want this to burn out too fast. I wanted it to last, slow and steady, a burning ember that glowed for eternity."

She's breaking under expectations.
He's suffocating under love.

Valeriana has spent her whole life performing as the perfect daughter while quietly falling apart under the weight of never being enough.
Darius grew up in warmth and freedom, only to find that too much love can also be a cage.

At Ceridian University, Valeriana just wants to survive another semester. Darius just wants to do his job and keep his heart out of it. But when their paths cross; the tutor sessions, quiet teasing, dinners, and moments that weren't supposed to matter turns into something neither expected. A bond built on shared exhaustion and unspoken care.

They teach each other how to breathe again.
How to laugh when the world feels too heavy.
How to love without needing to be perfect.

But as their connection deepens, so does the fear of losing control, of being too much, of not being enough.
Because love, for them, isn't a rescue.
It's a slow unravelling. A choice to stay when it would be easier to run.

"The Way We Mend" is a tender, slow-burn romance about burnout, healing, and the quiet courage of being seen and loved as you are.

{This is an original work written by me. I only upload this on Wattpad.}
[Updates: 3 times a week]