Page 115 of The Clifftop Cottage

She said it softly, but with certainty.

Erica’s eyes met those of the man beside her for a brief moment, something unspoken passing between them, before she looked back at Maisie.

“I think … I’ll stay.”

Leah watched that small exchange.

Once, Dylan had looked at her like that.

Before life had filled up with school runs and bills and the slow grind of ordinary days. Before the distance had crept in so quietly neither of them had known how to stop it.

And if she was honest … it hadn’t just been him stepping away.

She had been busy too. Tired. Too quick to brush off the small gestures.

Somewhere along the way, they had both stopped reaching.

A thought settled in her then – uncomfortable, but clear.

If she didn’t try to find her way back to him, whatever was left between them might disappear entirely.

Maybe it already had.

She didn’t know.

Nearby, Gabriel closed the lid of the box.

Leah watched him a moment. “You’re the one who had Erica’s phone.”

He looked up. “Yeah.”

“The landlord.”

A small nod. “Guilty.”

Leah glanced at Erica, then back at him.

“So you’re Gabriel.”

A flicker of amusement crossed Erica’s face.

“I was just helping out,” he said.

Leah believed him.

Above them the clouds had thinned, and moonlight spilled across the garden, illuminating the broken earth where the past had finally let itself be found.

The wind moved gently through the grass.

The box rested between them.

Letters.

A medallion.

Two curls of hair tied together.

Someone’s love, kept safe all this time.