rjbrclee
Velmora does not know how to believe in love.
Every time Miana says "I love you," it sounds like a lie wrapped in warmth-something temporary, something that will disappear the moment she lets herself trust it. So Velmora does what she has always done: she doubts, she pulls away, she turns tenderness into something sharp before it can turn against her.
And it hurts.
It hurts Miana to be loved like she is not real.
But this time, she does not leave.
Not because she thinks she can fix Velmora. Not because she is willing to be broken again. But because she finally understands the truth beneath the damage:
Every time she walks away, Velmora does not heal-she hardens.
So Miana stays. Not quietly. Not passively. She stays and pushes back-against the fear, against the distance, against the part of Velmora that would rather destroy love than risk losing it.
And it hurts.
Because the more she reaches, the more Velmora resists. The more she proves her love, the more Velmora questions it. Loving her is not gentle. It is not easy. It is choosing, every day, to stand in front of someone who does not yet know how to hold what she's being given.
And somewhere else, there is a different life waiting.
Laurusus-patient, unwavering, ready to build something steady and whole. A future without fear. A love that does not demand proof every second of its existence.
He asks her to stay.
He asks her to choose peace.
And Miana almost does.
But love is not always logical. It is not always safe. And it does not always choose the path that hurts the least.
So when the moment comes, Miana tells him the truth she can no longer run from:
"I tried to love you the way you deserve. But my heart... it never stopped choosing her."
And in choosing Velmora again, she is not choosing pain.
She is choosing a fight.
Not to fix her.
But to stand beside her-only if Velmora is willing to fight herself, too.