Ode to a Distant Memory

Malaya has never had the luxury of being careless.
Truth is, she's never had the luxury of anything.

At seventeen, she's working two jobs, barely scraping by, singing old songs in a pub where nobody really listens. College is supposed to be her escape-the first real chance she has to break the cycle she was born into.

Then there's Rowan Alen.

The guy who's been swimming in everything Malaya's spent her whole life reaching for-money, freedom, time to waste.
The guy who's never had to worry about anything except what he wants next.
And somehow, for some reason, he wanted her.

Malaya wasn't looking for love. She doesn't have space for it.

They weren't supposed to fall.
Not this fast. Not this hard.

But pride builds walls higher than love can climb.
And sometimes, no matter how real it is, love isn't enough to tear them down.

And Malaya doesn't know how to lean on anyone.
Doesn't know how to be vulnerable when life taught her that needing someone almost always ends in losing them.

Rowan was willing to break down her walls.
She was too scared to hand him the hammer.

He wanted all of her.
She only knew how to give him pieces.

And sometimes, even the strongest kind of love isn't enough to fix the parts you're too afraid to show.

This isn't just a love story.
It's about fighting like hell for the life you want.
About losing and loving and learning how to live with all the messy parts you can't fix.