Unseen Bylines

They say love should never feel like a competition. But for Elis, standing in the shadow of the person she once admired-once loved-it felt exactly like that.

Elis never craved the spotlight-she merely yearned to be noticed. She had spent years establishing herself, struggling to find her place, and making room where words meant something.

And then there was Cael. The boy with the voice that could hold a room. The boy who, without even knowing it, had taken everything Elis had struggled for and claimed it as his own. He wasn't cruel. He wasn't untruthful. He was just everything she wished she could be-only he didn't have to struggle like she did.

She had been there in the late hours, editing his speeches, refining his message, making sure his words struck the right chords. She had captured his campaign in her photographs, framing him as the visionary leader everyone wanted to follow. Every success, every headline, every moment that made him stand out-it had her fingerprints all over it.

And yet, no one saw her.

As the students chanted his name in the open field, as he stood before them, Elis tightened her grip on her camera.

She was the one taking the picture. But she was never in it.

For while Cael was hailed as the leader they had all been hoping for, Elis was still what she had always been.

A byline at the end of the page.

Unseen.