Sarah thought moving on would be easier.
At first, she did everything she could to escape the memories. She changed her routines, took a new job in another city, and surrounded herself with people who didn't know her past. She smiled when she had to, laughed when expected, and pretended that her heart wasn't still shattered into a thousand irreparable pieces.
But no matter how much she tried, the past followed her like a shadow.
Lewis was gone. Nathan was in prison. And she was left with the ghosts of two brothers who had loved her in ways she never truly understood until it was too late.
---
Her new apartment was small but cozy—just enough space for one. She had taken a job at a marketing firm, something far removed from the life she once envisioned. Once upon a time, she had dreamed of settling down with someone she loved, of building a future filled with laughter and warmth.
That dream had died with Lewis.
Now, she focused on surviving.
Her colleagues saw her as composed, independent, and professional. None of them knew how many nights she cried herself to sleep. None of them knew how, sometimes, she woke up expecting to hear Lewis's voice or see Nathan's familiar silhouette by her side.
She kept everything locked inside, afraid that if she let herself feel too much, she would break apart completely.
---
Then came Michael.
He was kind, patient, and everything she should have wanted. He didn't push her to talk about her past, though she knew he was curious. He didn't try to fix her. Instead, he offered quiet companionship—dinners after work, walks in the park, a shoulder to lean on when the weight of her own thoughts became too much.
For a while, she let herself believe she could love him.
But love wasn't something you forced.
One evening, as they sat in his car outside her apartment, Michael turned to her with soft eyes. "Sarah, I care about you. But sometimes, it feels like you're not really here with me."
She looked away, guilt gnawing at her. "I'm trying, Michael."
"I know," he said gently. "But maybe that's the problem."
She felt tears burn the back of her eyes. "I want to move on."
Michael sighed, reaching for her hand. "Moving on doesn't mean forgetting. It just means making peace with the past."
But how could she make peace with a past filled with so much pain?
---
One day, she found herself back in her old neighborhood.
It had been over a year since everything happened, and yet, standing there, it felt like no time had passed at all. She walked by the house where she had once dreamed of a future with Lewis, where Nathan had stood on the porch, watching her with that same quiet longing he had never spoken aloud.
She passed by the park where the three of them had once spent lazy afternoons together—before love, jealousy, and tragedy had torn them apart.
And then, before she knew it, she was standing outside the prison.
She wasn't even sure why she came.
She had promised herself she wouldn't visit Nathan. That chapter of her life was over. He had made his choices, and she had made hers.
But as she stood there, staring at the towering gates, she realized the truth.
No matter how far she ran, a part of her would always be trapped in the past.
She would never forget Nathan's love.
And she would never stop mourning Lewis.
The scars they left behind would never fade.
Because some love stories were never meant to be.
---