All In, Then Empty

Aven Diego has always believed that love is a trap-messy, temporary, and always ending in someone getting left behind. Scarred by her own family's dysfunction and the relationships she's seen fall apart around her, she's built her life with walls: independence, sarcasm, and a packed college schedule that leaves no room for vulnerability.

But everything shifts when she reconnects with Elior Reyes, a quiet, grounded former schoolmate who's navigating his own chaos-abandonment, poverty, and a life far from easy. They meet again during one of Aven's lowest points, and what starts as small talk slowly becomes something more-a routine of messages, shared cigarettes, and late-night confessions that neither of them expected.

As they continue to orbit each other through coffee dates, church visits, and honest conversations, Aven begins to question the things she's always run from. Elior isn't perfect-he's been broken too-but he stays. And in a world where everyone leaves, that might just be the scariest thing of all.

In a story about fears, flaws, and the slow unraveling of emotional armor, "Aven" is a journey through what it really means to give someone a chance-not just to love you, but to stay when it's easier to walk away.