Amanda shook her violently. "Wake up—wake up! I just saw this online. Your boyfriend posted this!"
Juliet's eyes snapped open, still heavy with sleep. "What are you talking about?" she murmured, snatching the phone.
Her breath caught as she read.
"I'm grateful to everyone who stood by me… and I'm sorry to leave my mother with another grief… but I have to leave this world."
The words blurred.
"What…?" Her voice cracked. "No—no, James—"
She was already moving.
Barefoot, heart pounding against her ribs, she ran out of the house, not even realizing she'd left the door wide open behind her.
"Where is he?!" she screamed the moment she burst into his compound.
"Juliet!" James's mother rushed toward her, eyes red, voice shaking. "I saw it too—"
"Where is he?" Juliet cut in, her voice breaking into a desperate shout.
The driver stepped forward hesitantly.
"You know where he is," Juliet snapped, grabbing his shirt. "Tell me!"
"Ma… he told me not to—"
"Tell me!" she screamed.
He faltered. "He's… at the headquarters."
"Take us there. Now!"
—
The car hadn't even fully stopped before Juliet threw the door open and ran.
"James!" she screamed, her voice echoing through the building. "James!"
There he was.
Alive.
Sitting on his wheel chair.
"Why?" she demanded, her chest heaving. "Why would you do this? Why would you make everyone think you were—" Her voice broke.
"—that you were going to kill yourself?"
James looked at her, guilt flickering across his face. "I… I wasn't going to anymore. I forgot to delete the post. I stopped… when I met you."
Silence.
Heavy. Suffocating.
Juliet stared at him, her eyes glistening—not with relief, but something sharper.
"Look at me," she said, her voice low but trembling with anger. "I can't do this."
"Juliet—"
"No." She shook her head, stepping back. "I can't be with someone who's always standing on the edge… someone who thinks leaving is an option."
His face fell.
"You don't get to leave your mother with another grief," she continued, her voice rising, "and you don't get to love me… only to disappear!"
Her chest rose and fell, tears finally spilling over.
"I won't wait around for the day you decide not to stay."
She turned, her voice breaking into a whisper—
"I'm out of here."
And this time, she didn't look back.
"Sister Juliet, you have a visitor!" Amanda's voice rang out, sharp and urgent.
Juliet's heart skipped. A strange feeling crept into her chest as she stepped out.
It was him.
James.
He looked… different. Tense. Determined. Like he had already made a decision and there was no turning back.
"Hi," he said quietly.
Juliet didn't respond immediately. Her eyes searched his face, as if trying to read what he hadn't said yet.
"I'm sorry… for everything," he continued, his voice unsteady but firm. "What happened… it was already set in motion before I met you. But then you came into my life and…" He paused, swallowing hard. "You gave me a reason to stay."
Juliet's breath caught.
"I'm ready to walk," James said.
Her eyes widened.
"If I fall—don't pity me."
Before she could react, he gripped the arms of his wheelchair and pushed himself up.
Slowly.
Painfully.
His legs trembled violently beneath him. His body shook like it was fighting against itself. For a brief second—
He stood.
Juliet's heart slammed against her chest.
"James—"
His knees buckled.
She rushed forward and caught him just in time, easing him back into the wheelchair before he hit the ground.
Silence.
Heavy. Suffocating.
Then Juliet let out a shaky breath, her hands still gripping his shoulders.
"Today is your birthday…" she said softly, her voice breaking. "And you stood. Even if it was just for a moment… you stood."
James looked at her, something raw and vulnerable flickering in his eyes.
"I got you something," Juliet added, quickly brushing her tears away. "I didn't even wrap it."
She handed it to him.
James took it slowly, almost cautiously.
"It's a journal," he murmured, opening it.
His eyes fell on the first page.
His voice dropped as he read aloud:
"I will forever love you… through the wheels or when you're walking. I want you to live."
His grip tightened on the journal.
For a moment, he couldn't speak.
Then he looked up at her, his eyes glistening.
"I love you too, Juliet."
The words came out like a promise… like something he was choosing to fight for.
He reached for her.
Their lips met—soft at first, then deeper, filled with everything they hadn't said, everything they almost lost.
When they pulled apart, nothing felt the same anymore.
Juliet didn't hesitate this time.
She turned, gathered her things with trembling hands, and walked back to him.
"I'm not leaving you again," she said quietly.
James held her gaze.
And without another word, they left together—
back to his house,
back to a life he had almost given up on.