Elias pulled away.
Not all at once. But gradually fewer texts, shorter visits, sketching alone again. Malik noticed, of course.
One evening, he showed up at the villa.
"We need to talk."
They walked down to the shore where it all began.
"I don't know how to do this," Elias admitted. "I'm scared. You matter so much to me. What if this ends and it wrecks me?"
"You think I'm not scared too?" Malik asked. "But I'd rather risk the fall than never fly. You're worth that. We're worth that."
Elias turned to him, heart in his throat. "You really believe that?"
"I do."
And in that moment, Elias chose faith over fear.