"She didn't pause. Didn't blink. Didn't let me see a single crack. And that's what destroyed me the most—because I realized she realized she already let me go, and I'm the only one still holding on." Summary: Jace runs into Ivy by accident, and it hits like a punch to the ribs. No words. No explosion. Just eye contact—and then she walks right past him like he's nothing more than a face she used to know. Her silence isn't bitter. It's peaceful. And that undoes him completely. Because now he finally understands... she's not angry. She's free. And if he wants her back, he's going to have to earn his way into the version of her that no longer waits for boys like him.

“I felt it. Every word, every silence, every almost. But I didn’t answer. Not because I didn’t care—because I finally do. About me.” Summary: Ivy finally lets herself process Jace’s message—not with desperation, but with clarity. She remembers the ache, the way she used to wait for his attention like air. But now she walks forward with something else: boundaries. Silence isn’t cold. It’s protective. And for the first time, her heart isn’t begging—it’s healing. Choosing not to reply isn’t indifference… it’s growth.

“She read it. No reply. And that silence hit harder than any fight we ever had. Because silence? That’s not confusion. That’s a decision. And this time… it’s not mine.” Summary: Jace finally sees the message marked as Read. After two long days, Ivy looked—and chose silence. It’s not an accident. It’s not hesitation. It’s her boundary. And Jace realizes, maybe for the first time, that she’s not waiting for him anymore. If he wants a second chance, words won’t cut it. He’ll have to become the man who’s worth her voice again. And the question that terrifies him most: what if she’s already done hoping?

"I opened it. Sat with it. And then I let it go. Because loving someone doesn't always mean answering. Sometimes it means choosing yourself, even when your heart's still sore." Summary: Ivy finally reads Jace’s message, two days later. But instead of spiraling, she breathes. The words don’t gut her like they used to. They don’t unravel her. She doesn’t reply—not because she’s punishing him, but because she no longer needs his validation to feel whole. For the first time, Ivy chooses stillness over reaction, healing over hope. And it’s not weakness—it’s freedom.

"I sat there with the phone in my hand, like it held the apology I couldn't say out loud. But there's no message that undoes what I broke. And maybe... maybe she's not coming back this time." Summary: Jace is unraveling. Every hour without a reply feels heavier than the last. He thought he could handle silence, but not hers. Now, with nothing left to hide behind, he’s finally confronting the truth—he didn’t just hurt her. He pushed her away. And as the message sits untouched, he realizes: Ivy might be gone for real this time. Not out of anger—but out of finally learning to let go.

"I could've answered. God knows I wanted to. But I didn't. Because this time, I wanted to make sure I wasn't just running back to someone who doesn't know how to stay." Summary: The morning after Jace’s late-night message, Ivy wakes to a room filled with soft light—and heavy silence. The message is still there, unread. She holds the moment in her hands, caught between habit and healing. But instead of giving in, she makes a quiet choice: to pause. To wait. To not give more of herself until he proves he knows what to do with it. She doesn’t answer… and that silence might be the loudest thing she’s ever said.

“I thought silence would be easier. I’ve lived in it my whole life. But hers? Hers feels like drowning. Like I finally reached out—too late—and she didn’t reach back.” Summary: After sending “I saw you today,” Jace waits. And waits. But Ivy doesn’t answer. The silence stretches longer than he can take, and for the first time, he’s the one left on read—if even that. The distance feels permanent now. And the truth starts to sink in: he’s not just watching her let go. He’s watching her choose not to look back. And this time, he might not get another chance.

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Reality grows thin around me, pale and quiet, so I slip into the kingdom my longing built. Dragons sweep across violet skies. Forests glow with spelllight. The air tastes sweet, as if magic drifts through every breath. And there he is, the man the world calls villain, cloaked in shadow, calm as a storm waiting to break. I should fear him, yet my heart chooses him first. Not the hero, not the gentle path. But him. He protects me with a fierce, unflinching devotion, not dying for me, but fighting for me, choosing me, burning for me. The impossible becomes home.

“I stared at the message like it was a trap and a lifeline all at once. He saw me. And now he wanted me to know. But what he doesn’t get is—I’m not the same girl who would drop everything just because he texted. Not anymore.” Summary: Late at night, Ivy’s phone buzzes with a message from Jace: “I saw you today.” Just four words—but they hit like lightning. Now she’s suspended in a moment of uncertainty, staring at the screen, fingers trembling over the keyboard. A part of her wants to reply. A bigger part knows she shouldn’t. Because even now, even after everything… he still has a hold on her she doesn’t know how to break.

“She used to look back. Every time. Even when she shouldn’t. But now she doesn’t. She didn’t even flinch. And maybe that’s how I know I finally lost her… not in a scream, not in a goodbye. Just silence.” Summary: Jace watches Ivy through the glass, standing frozen in the hallway, hoping—desperately—for her to turn. Just one look. One second. A sign she still cares. But she doesn’t give it to him. She sits steady, peaceful, facing someone else. And the weight of her stillness is heavier than any words she could have thrown. For the first time, Jace realizes the distance between them isn’t just emotional. It’s final. She’s done chasing.

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“I felt him watching. The air changed, like gravity shifted. But I didn’t turn. I didn’t give him that. Not because I was angry—because I was done giving him pieces of me he didn’t know how to hold.” Summary: Ivy senses Jace watching her from the hallway, but she doesn’t acknowledge him. For the first time, she doesn’t shrink, doesn’t chase, doesn’t even look. She sits steady, calm, letting him see the girl who’s starting to choose herself over waiting. It’s not about power. It’s about peace. And this time—she keeps it.

“She looked peaceful. Sitting there with him, like I hadn’t shattered her just days ago. And it hit me—all at once—that maybe she’s learning how to feel okay without me. And that… scared the hell out of me.” Summary: Jace wasn’t supposed to see her. Wasn’t supposed to stop. But when he catches Ivy tucked into a couch beside Caleb—calm, not hurting, not alone—he freezes. For the first time, he’s on the outside of her world, watching someone else fill the space he keeps leaving behind. And the ache he feels in that moment? It’s not jealousy. It’s real loss—the kind you can’t charm or run from.

“I didn’t cry. I didn’t break. I just kept walking. And when Caleb found me sitting alone and didn’t ask questions, I let him stay. Because maybe I was tired of waiting for someone who keeps walking away.” Summary: After walking away from Jace for the last time, Ivy doesn't fall apart—she gathers herself. She ends up in a quiet corner of the art building, where Caleb finds her and offers quiet, no-pressure company. And for the first time, Ivy lets someone else in—even just a little. She’s not replacing Jace. Not yet. But she’s realizing she doesn’t have to wait in the wreckage anymore.

“She didn’t say a word. Just stood there. And still—it felt like everything I’ve ever been afraid to feel. And when she walked away, it was the quietest heartbreak I’ve ever known. I felt her leave like a punch to the ribs I didn’t block in time.” Summary: Jace feels her presence—knows Ivy is there, just around the corner, watching him fall apart. But she doesn’t speak. Doesn’t come. And when she finally turns and walks away, the silence she leaves behind is deafening. For the first time, he’s the one being left, and it forces him to face something brutal: maybe this time, she’s the one who won’t come back.

“I didn’t mean to look for him. But when I saw him, folded in on himself like something was breaking inside, I didn’t want to walk away. And still—I did. Because wanting him isn’t enough. Not if he doesn’t want to stay.” Ivy takes the long way to class… and ends up exactly where she knew he might be. She sees Jace, alone behind the gym, visibly unraveling. It shakes her. For one breathless moment, she almost walks to him—but she doesn’t. Because even though she wants him—loves him—she knows she can’t fix someone who keeps choosing to leave.

“I left. But it didn’t feel like escape—it felt like failure. Because even with my back turned, I could still feel her. Like her stare had branded something into me I didn’t know how to burn off.” Summary: Jace tries to outrun the stare Ivy gave him—but it follows him. He feels it in the air, the quiet, his skin. No matter how many steps he takes away, her eyes are still on him in memory. Something inside him is shifting, cracking, breaking through the armor he’s built for years. He wants to stay. He wants to speak. But all he can do is hide—and wonder how long she’ll wait before she stops looking for him at all.

“He left. But it didn’t feel like silence—it felt like pressure. Like the air still remembered him. Like the space across from me still belonged to him, even when it was empty.” Summary: After locking eyes across the quad, Ivy is left with the weight of Jace’s stare lingering like a bruise. Though he walked away—again—the silence doesn’t feel empty. It feels full of him. She hides in the library, but even there, in the stillness, she can’t shake the feeling that what passed between them meant everything. She may be alone… but she’s not the only one feeling it.

“She looked back. And it wrecked me. Because in that one second, she saw through every wall I’d built—and didn’t look away. And I knew right then… I could lose every part of myself to her, and still want more.” Summary: Jace told himself he could handle it—watching Ivy from a distance, pretending she didn’t still get under his skin. But when she turns and meets his eyes, something in him breaks. The connection is undeniable, electric, and more terrifying than anything he’s ever felt. He walks away again, but this time it’s not to protect her. It’s because he knows—he’s falling, and falling hard.