13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1D43cUQXN9
There was no ceremony to it.
No dramatic decision.
Just a notebook on the kitchen counter one Sunday morning, blank and waiting.
A sticky note on the cover, written in Andrei’s familiar handwriting:
“A new habit? One page a week. You. Me. No filters.”
Colleen stared at it for a long time.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7898983d8l
Then, without overthinking, she picked up a pen.
Her Entry – Week One
I don’t know if I still believe in forever.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡElB7njoaR4
But I do believe in now. And right now, I’m here.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYW4ghaXMG4
I won’t lie and say I trust you fully. But I trust myself to walk away if it ever feels like I’m shrinking again.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDcvYJQMGN
That’s something, right?
She closed the notebook gently and left it by his pillow.
The next morning, it was gone.
His Entry – Week One
I miss how we used to laugh at 2 a.m. over stupid YouTube videos.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd3aba38ai4
I miss how you’d kick your feet when you got excited.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzMELtmoND7
I miss the version of me who never made you doubt.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEamzzWYfeV
I’m trying to be someone I wouldn’t cheat on either.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVu6O6gsNlL
I hope you notice that.
She read it, heart twisting — not with pain, but with a strange warmth.
Not everything was healed. But something had shifted.
A Ritual of Honesty
Week after week, the journal grew.
They didn’t always read each other’s entries right away.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ReWlugPOS
Sometimes, it took days.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLONY8dAOfi
Sometimes, it took courage.
But it became their rhythm — an honesty they could ease into even when face-to-face words felt too sharp.
This week, I got scared when I saw you smile at your phone.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSKtDq6zonP
Then I felt stupid for being scared. But I still was.
You looked tired yesterday. I made tea. You didn’t notice, but that’s okay.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPIzi5X2QtK
I’m learning to give without expectation.
I still love you. But I love myself more now.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6tKuIkIlFr
That’s why I can stay — because I know I can also leave if I have to.
The Growth That Doesn’t Post on Instagram
No one clapped for them.
There were no hashtags. No grand “comeback” photos.
Just small things:
Two toothbrushes side by side again.
Groceries planned together, not out of routine but care.
Heated arguments, still — but with pauses, apologies, and reflection.
Not everything was better.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡURZawJ058P
But everything was real.
And sometimes, that was better than perfect.
The Final Page (For Now)
One rainy Friday, Colleen wrote:
This love isn’t the one I fell into when I was twenty-five.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa6xsNwkQrl
It’s the one I chose at thirty-one, with my eyes wide open.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOeUG3lbyoY
The one that scares me, because I know its weight.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMQTz2JX3eP
But also the one I believe in, because I know its depth.
You don’t complete me.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfvMeFlgABq
You meet me — here, whole and flawed.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtgXOvSHA1m
And that’s all I ever really wanted.
They didn’t promise to write forever.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡISmdduq2PQ
Just week to week. Truth to truth.
And for the first time, the story they were writing together felt like their own.
Not salvaged.
Rewritten.
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