I WOULD HAVE STAYED

PROLOGUE

Some endings don't announce themselves.
They don't come with slamming doors or final words.
They slip in quietly, like a nurse turning off a monitor in the middle of the night.
One moment, there's a heartbeat. The next, just silence.

Maya didn't know she was falling in love when she offered a stranger her silence in a hospital waiting room.
Ethan didn't know he was already saying goodbye when he kissed her in a parking garage.

They were two people who found each other in the worst place, at the worst time, and somehow made it beautiful.
Until life reminded them that beautiful things don't always get to stay.

He left to spare her the pain.
She stayed with the pain anyway.

This is the story of what happens when love is real, but time is not.
When "I'm tired" means "I'm dying" and "I'm okay" means "I'm breaking."

And when the person you love most decides you're better off without them...
without ever asking if you'd choose to stay.