His name was Arvid Liem. I knew it from the business card Clea had slipped into my book last night.
"If you really want to know who you used to be," he wrote, "meet him."
I hesitated. But in the end, curiosity was greater than fear.
We met at a small cafe near the city park—a place too ordinary for Gavrila, but too quiet to ignore. And when I saw him standing in front of the cafe, I immediately understood why Clea had sent me here.
Arvid was tall, fair-skinned, and had a calm, non-threatening smile. But his eyes were… sharp. Like he knew too much, but chose not to say it right away.
"Adel," he greeted, kindly.
"Sorry, I… don't fully remember," I said, carefully.
He smiled again. "It's okay. I wasn't even sure you were you."
I stiffened.
"What do you mean?"
He sat down, sipping his coffee before speaking.
"Six months ago, you sent me an email. It was long. You said you were tired. You wanted to get out of that big house. You wanted to live like a normal person, even if it meant… losing everything."
My heart was pounding.
"Why didn't you come then?" I asked softly.
"I came. But you never showed up."
He was looking at me directly now.
"So when Clea said you changed… I knew. The person sitting in front of me now is not the Adelina who wrote that email."
I fell silent. Because he was right.
But what made me uncomfortable… wasn't just that he noticed it. But because in his eyes, I didn't feel judged. Instead… understood.
We talked for a long time. About life. About vague memories. About the paintings and dreams Adel had once written in his sketchbook. And when he laughed, I felt at ease. Something I rarely felt with Nathan.
Not because Nathan was mean. But because Nathan was… too full.
Arvid, on the other hand, was like the evening air. Cold but not piercing. Clear. But it wasn't empty.
"I don't know who you are now," Arvid said as we parted, "but if you need a reason to leave again… I can be one."
He didn't kiss my hand. He didn't hug me. But as he walked away, I felt… I was missing something I hadn't had the chance to have.
Nathan was waiting for me at home. His face was tense, his tie loose, and his steps restless.
"Where were you?" he asked quickly.
"Met an old friend," I replied.
"Clea?" His voice rose slightly.
"No. Arvid."
He froze. "He's not just a friend. He's the man Adel is considering running away with."
I was shocked. "You know?"
Nathan leaned in closer. "Of course I know. I know everyone who's dared to try to take you away from me."
I looked into his eyes. "I don't belong to anyone, Nathan."
He stared back. "But I belong to you. And I know… you're starting to feel that too."
I wanted to deny it. But my heart was telling me otherwise.
On one side was Nathan—deep, full, and never half.
On the other side was Arvid—new, neutral, but somehow felt like home.
And me?
I was beginning to realize… true love doesn't always come as a protector. Sometimes, it comes as a mirror—reflecting who we really are.
And I didn't know yet… which of them deserved to see that reflection with me.
I had no intention of seeing him again.
But two days after that first meeting, Arvid sent a text message:
"There's a place you used to want to go. Do you still want to?"
I read the message over and over again, before finally typing a reply:
"Where and what time?"
We met at an old station, now defunct. The rails were rusty, the building half-collapsed, but the atmosphere was... peaceful. It was like time had stopped here.
"I never knew why you liked this place," Arvid said, sitting on a cracked wooden bench. "But you once said that here you felt invisible. You didn't have to be 'Adel Gavrila'."
I sat down next to him. Slowly. We were close enough to feel each other's presence, but not touching.
"You used to tell me a lot about how tired you were of being loved because of your name... not because of yourself."
I looked up at the sky, which was starting to turn gray. "If I were a new person now... would you still care?"
He didn't answer right away. Then he said,
"Sometimes I feel... you are more honest now. Calmer. More free."
I turned around, looking at him. "And you are not curious... who I really am?"
Arvid turned his head. His gaze was soft, not demanding.
"I care more about who you want to be now."
Silence. But not awkward. Instead... calming.
We walked along the old tracks. The gentle wind hit my face. In a place like this, I could breathe without pressure. There was no mansion, no servants' stares, no shadows of old love that bound me.
"Are you happy now?" Arvid asked suddenly.
I was silent.
"It's hard to answer. Because I myself am not sure... whose life I am living."
He stared at me, for a long time.
"You can make a new life if you want. You don't have to relive the old one."
His words were simple. But shocking.
We stopped at an old iron bridge. Beneath it, a small river flowed slowly. Arvid leaned his hand on the bridge railing, then turned to me.
"Can I be honest?" he asked.
I nodded.
"I fell in love with you… when you were still Adel, full of wounds. But today… I realized, I fell more in love with the version of you now."
My heart was pounding. But not because of tension. Because of relief.
"Arvid… I don't even know who I am now."
He smiled.
"That's why I'm not asking for an answer right now. I just want to be by your side… while you find the answer yourself."
Those were the most beautiful words I've heard since I came back to life.
When we got back to his car, it started to rain. Light, like a whisper. Inside the car, it was quiet again.
I leaned my head against the window.
"You know… you're the only person who makes me feel… not a guest in my own life," I said softly.
Arvid didn't answer. But he held my hand. Not tightly. Not demandingly. Just to make sure... he's there.
And for the first time since I opened my eyes as Adelina Gavrila, I felt... maybe, I could choose how this story ended.
Without coercion. Without fear.
And maybe—without Nathan.