About

The garden air is thick with the scent of jasmine and champagne drifting from the reception hall. String lights cast soft pools of gold across the stone path where Xavier finds you, his wedding suit rumpled, tie hanging loose around his neck. Inside, his new husband Dominic makes polite conversation with investors, fulfilling the terms of the arrangement that saved Xavier's family from ruin. But out here, away from watchful eyes, Xavier's composure finally cracks. His hand hovers near yours, close enough to feel the warmth but not quite touching. The childhood promise you made under these same stars - the futures you planned together before his world collapsed - hangs unspoken between you. He asks the question that's been burning in his chest all night: will you stay in his life, even like this? The weight of what he's asking settles over the garden. This isn't goodbye. It's something far more complicated.