The morning light filtered through the glass walls of ColeTech's main floor, warm and steady. The chaos that once defined the building had faded into something gentler—an air of rebuilding. But not every wound healed at the same pace.
Lila sat at her desk, her laptop open but her mind elsewhere. Her inbox overflowed,the chatters of staff in the building yet she couldn't stop thinking about how quiet it felt inside her lately. Peaceful, yes,but also strangely empty. It was the kind of calm that comes after a storm, where everything is still standing but nothing feels quite the same.She knew she missed her sister but she needed time and space from her as well.
Adrian's voice broke through the silence.
"You're overworking again,"he said from the doorway, holding two cups of coffee.
She looked up at him ,with a faint smile on her lips. "Old habits I guess."
He handed her a cup and leaned against the edge of her desk. "You've been staring at the same spreadsheet for fifteen minutes."
She rolled her eyes lightly. "I'm thinking."
"About the spreadsheet?" he teased.
"About life," she said softly, meeting his eyes.
Something passed between them,unspoken, but real. Since Luna's public confession and disappearance, their relationship had shifted quietly. They didn't talk about it much, but both knew it hung in the air, fragile and heavy. Forgiveness didn't come easy, even when both people wanted it.
Adrian took a sip of his coffee, his gaze lingering on her. "You've been different lately."
"In a good way or a bad way?" Lila asked.
"In a real way," he said after a pause. "Like you've stopped pretending to hold everything together."
She laughed softly, shaking her head. " haven't stopped. I'm just getting better at hiding it."
He smiled at that knowing. "You don't have to hide it here, Lila."
The words stayed with her long after he left her office.
That afternoon, she attended a board meeting with Adrian. The company was thriving again, but trust was still fragile,investors still cautious, employees still recovering from the chaos Luna's scheme had caused. During the presentation, Lila's phone buzzed once on the table. She ignored it, but curiosity made her glance down.
It was a message.
From an unknown number.
But she didn't need to see the name to know who it was.
"I saw the interview replay last night. You looked happy. I'm glad."
Her chest tightened. Luna.
She locked the phone quietly, forcing herself to focus on the meeting. But the words pulsed in her mind like a heartbeat.
After the meeting, when the building was quieter, she walked to the terrace where the evening breeze would hit her, and she finally let herself breathe. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed her sister—not the chaos or lies, but the person she was before all that. The girl who used to laugh at midnight, the twin who always knew what she was thinking without a word.
The glass door slid open behind her. "You keep disappearing up here," Adrian said softly.
"Maybe I like the view,"she said without turning.
He stepped beside her, close but not too close. "Or maybe you just like being alone with your thoughts."
She smiled faintly. "Maybe both."
He studied her for a moment before speaking. "I got a message today. From one of our old investors. They said they finally trust us again."
"That's good,""she said, still staring at the skyline.
"It is," he nodded. "But that's not the only message that matters, is it?"
Her hand tightened slightly around the railing. "You saw it?"
"No,"he said gently. "But I know you got one."
She looked at him finally. His expression wasn't accusing, just understanding.
"It's from Luna,"she admitted quietly.
He nodded slowly then asked. "How is she?"
"I don't know. She didn't say much. Just that she was glad."
Adrian looked out at the horizon. "Sometimes that's enough."
Lila sighed, her chest heavy. "I don't know if I should reply. What do you even say to someone who broke everything and then disappeared?"
"You say what's true,"he said. "That you still care."
She blinked back the tears that rose unexpectedly.
He reached out, brushing his thumb against the back of her hand. It wasn't romantic, just comforting, simple. "You don't have to forgive her today," he said softly. "But you will one day. And she'll forgive herself too,I'm sure she's learning to do that already."
The words hit deeper than she expected. Maybe because they were the same words she'd been too afraid to believe.
That night, after she got home, she sat on her bed with her phone in hand. Her apartment was quiet except for the faint hum of city sounds outside. The text was still there on the screen, small and ordinary,but it felt like an entire bridge between them.
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard for a long time before she finally typed back:
"I'm glad you're okay."
No punctuation. No explanation. Just that.
She stared at it for a moment before pressing send.
The reply came hours later, just before midnight.
Not okay yet. But getting there.
Lila smiled faintly, a tear slipping down her cheek. It wasn't closure. Not yet. But it was something.
A week later, the company hosted a private retreat for its top executives—Adrian's idea of rebuilding morale. Lila almost didn't go, but he insisted. "You need a break," he said.
The resort sat by a quiet lake, surrounded by pine trees. The days were filled with workshops and laughter, the nights with firelight and quiet conversations.
On the second night, after dinner, Lila and Adrian walked by the water. The reflection of the stars filled the waters.
"You know," Adrian said quietly, "I used to think success meant control. That if I could keep everything perfect, nothing would fall apart."
"And now?" she asked.
"Now I know that's not how life works," he said. "Sometimes you lose control. Sometimes you get hurt. But that doesn't mean you stop living."
She smiled softly. "You sound like someone who's been through therapy."
He laughed quietly. "Maybe I have."
They stopped near the edge of the dock. The wind was cool, the night still.
"I used to think love was something you fall into," she said after a long silence. "Now I think it's something you build—brick by brick, after everything's been broken."
Adrian looked at her for a long moment.
"Then let's build it," he said simply.
It wasn't a grand declaration, no dramatic kiss under the stars. Just two people deciding to try again. To start over—not as CEO and assistant, not as victims of someone else's revenge, but as equals.
The sound of the lake lapping , the silence between them, was peaceful and real.
When she looked at him again, she saw not the man she'd once feared or pitied, but the man who stayed when everything else fell apart.
And for the first time since it all began, she let herself believe they could really be okay.
Later that night, as she drifted to sleep, her phone buzzed again.
Thank you.
That was all Luna wrote.
Lila didn't reply. She didn't need to. Some words didn't require answers—just forgiveness.
And somewhere far away, maybe under a different sky, Luna smiled too, knowing her sister finally understood.
Because sometimes love doesn't fix everything. It just helps you live with the pieces.