Chapter Quote:
"The hardest truths are not the ones we hear… but the ones we finally say out loud."
— From Kellan's Notebook
Scene One — Nina & Kellan (Late Afternoon Light)
The sun filtered through the curtains, casting golden streaks on the wooden floor of Kellan's apartment. Nina sat on the edge of his couch, her hands nervously folded in her lap. She had been quiet since she arrived—quieter than usual.
Kellan knelt in front of her, his eyes soft but alert.
"Nina," he whispered, "you don't have to force anything. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."
She met his gaze with eyes that looked like they hadn't slept in days. "No. I need to say this. I have to say this."
She took a breath that shook her whole body.
"It's about Leo."
Kellan's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly—but he didn't interrupt.
"He's… my brother," she said. "My full brother."
Kellan blinked. "Wait. What?"
Nina stood up now, pacing the room like her heart needed space to breathe. "We didn't know. We didn't know. We thought—he thought—we were just connected by some distant step-thing. But it's not that. My mother confirmed it. My father came back. The truth is, we have the same parents."
She paused and looked at him, waiting for him to flinch, to frown, to leave.
But Kellan just breathed.
Then he stood up too and walked toward her.
"You were in love with him," he said softly—not accusing, just acknowledging.
Nina didn't deny it. Her voice broke: "Yes. I didn't know. I didn't know he was my brother."
Kellan exhaled, long and slow.
"I can't lie. That's a lot," he said, placing a hand over his chest. "But I also can't lie about this—I'm still here, Nina. And I still want to be the one who helps you heal."
Tears welled in her eyes. "You… you're not walking away?"
He stepped closer, brushing her hair from her face. "I'm not perfect. But I'm also not afraid of the mess you came from. If anything, I want to be part of building something new with you."
And in that moment, something inside Nina began to break open—not in pain this time, but in relief. She wrapped her arms around him, holding on tightly.
Scene Two — Leo & Amara (Evening, Dimly Lit Room)
Leo sat beside Amara on the edge of her bed, the room lit only by a small lamp.
"She deserves to know," Amara said, scrolling through her phone. "Zara might be far away, but this… this is her story too."
Leo looked reluctant. "What do we even say? 'Hey Zara, by the way, that whole love triangle we almost died in? Turns out we were all playing the wrong roles?'"
Amara gave him a sharp look. "Don't joke about it. Not this time."
He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Fine. Text her, call her, I don't care. Just… say it gently."
Amara grabbed her phone. "I'll do it."
She typed:
Hey Zara. I know it's late over there. Can you call me? There's something really important I need to tell you. It's about Leo. And Nina. It's serious.
A moment passed before the typing dots appeared.
I'm boarding a train in an hour. Can't talk now. Is everything okay? What's going on?
Amara hesitated, then decided to just say it plainly.
Leo and Nina are full siblings. Not step. Full blood.
The response came after a long pause:
Wait… WHAT? Are you kidding me??
No. We found out everything recently. Her father returned. Nina's mother confessed. It's true, Zara. All of it.
Jesus. I'm—I'm shaking. I need to process this.
Amara stared at the screen for a moment, then said quietly to Leo, "She knows."
Leo leaned back and whispered, "So now… everyone does."
Scene Three — Zara (Abroad, On a Train Station Platform)
Zara stood frozen, suitcase in hand, staring at the blinking phone screen. People rushed around her—suitcases rolling, announcements echoing—but she didn't hear any of it.
Leo and Nina… siblings?
It didn't make sense. It did. And that was the worst part.
She could see now—why things felt off. Why the love between them never settled peacefully.
Suddenly, all the pain she carried… it softened.
Because it was never really about her losing to Nina. It was about Nina losing a truth she never knew she had.
She looked up, eyes glassy, and murmured to herself, "We were all just trying to love in a world that forgot to tell us the truth."
And with that, she pulled her coat tighter and stepped onto the train, leaving behind more than one kind of heartbreak.
Scene Four — Nina's perspective (Later That Night)
Tonight I told Kellan everything. And he didn't run. He didn't pity me. He didn't recoil. He stayed.
I thought that when I said it out loud, the words would hurt again. But somehow… telling him was like setting fire to the weight I was carrying. And from the ashes, something warm began to grow.
I feel free. Not from the pain—but from the secrecy.
Scene Five — Zara's Perspective (Train Window Reflections)
Truth is funny. It can break you, then stitch you up stronger. Tonight I found out that everything I ever fought for was built on a lie neither of them knew.
And weirdly? I'm not angry. I'm just… free. It's time I started living my own story instead of watching someone else's unfold.
Scene Six — Leo's perspective
She knows now. Zara knows. Nina knows. Amara knows. And so do I.
I thought knowing would destroy me. But maybe… it's the start of something else. Maybe now I can finally stop loving Nina and start loving the life that's ahead of me—with Amara.
FADES OUT