Stay with me

(Lina)

As I walked beside Kieran, my mind kept drifting back to everything that had been happening lately—Nicholas, Elara, the palace, and everything that felt so heavy.

But I pushed those thoughts aside. This walk with Kieran, just the two of us, was exactly what I needed. It was quiet, and for the first time in a while, I felt a little lighter.

I told him everything, how Gerard had been caught up in some mess that didn't involve Mira at all and how he had feelings for Clara instead. I told him how everyone was gossiping about it. Kieran laughed at the absurdity of it all.

"The gossip here is a bit much, isn't it?" he said with a chuckle. His laugh made me smile. It felt good to talk to him, to laugh with him. It almost made everything else feel far away.

We continued walking, and I tried to forget about the mess with Nicholas and Elara. I tried to focus on the here and now. Kieran was beside me, and that was all that mattered.