The last episode " Ashes in April "

 

9 – The Letter

A year later, the snow was melting early.

Arden stood in the doorway of his apartment, holding a small envelope with Elena’s handwriting on it. The postmark was dated the day before she died.

The world slowed as he opened it.

“Arden,

I’ve rewritten this a dozen times. I know there’s no version that doesn’t end with someone hurt. Maybe that’s the curse of love—if it’s real, it always comes with a wound.

You were my memory. My rhythm. You reminded me who I was before life got heavy. You gave me quiet. And I needed it more than I ever admitted.

Luca made me feel alive. Like maybe I could still become something more. Something braver. He painted the version of me I wanted to be. And that scared me, too.

If I chose one of you, I’d lose half of myself. I think that’s why I waited too long. I didn’t want to die, Arden. I just wanted silence. Just for a minute.

If there’s a place after this, I hope it’s a gallery, or a piano room, or a page of something unfinished.

Love you. Always. Both of you.

– E.”

Arden didn’t cry. He simply folded the letter and tucked it inside the manuscript.

That night, he walked to the gallery. It was closed, but he knew the code.

He turned on the single light above the portrait.

The paint hadn’t faded. Her eyes were still telling stories. The plaque beneath it read:

“Elena Rivera, 1996–2024
Ashes in April.”

He stood there for a long time, hands in his pockets, silence all around.

Outside, April was beginning again.

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💔 THE END