"And now we're here," Riley ended her narration.
Meredith carried her hand gently into her palm, and then covered it. "You should take responsibility for leaving. You should also be proud of yourself for being bold enough to put yourself first. I promise you there are not many who can. With all of that said, I think that you should let things flow naturally now. If you try to force it, you'd end up regretting it. Let fate decide what will be, okay?"
Riley surprisingly felt some kind of freedom from the words Meredith spoke to her.
She realised it was because she had placed a burden on herself.
One that began and ended with her relationship with Theo.
Complicated, incredibly messy, difficult to understand, nonetheless, a relationship it had been.
So many years later, it took her one conversation to come to terms with the facts.
What will be, will be.
She surprised herself further, and hugged Meredith.
"Thank you," she whispered to her.
"You're welcome, gorgeous."
