Chapter 170 Chapter 170

Chapter 170 Chapter 170
Aurelia

A few minutes passed. Then I said softly, “I got here earlier thinking I’d wait forever.” He glanced at me. “Did you?" he asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “Turns out I didn’t have to.” That got something subtle in his expression. Not an emotion loud enough to name Just recognition, like that sentence, meant more than it looked like. He reached for his phone briefly, checked something, then put it back down.

Not distracted, just done with the outside world for now. I looked at him. “You okay?" I asked this time. He paused, then nodded. “Yes.”
No overthinking, no layers. Just yes, I accepted it. Because I knew when he said that now, it meant it. Another silence settled. Comfortably Familiar.
Then he said, "You're here more often now.” I shrugged slightly. “Breaks line up. Life is flexible.”
“That wasn’t the case before," he said.

“No,” I said. "Before, there was chaos.” He looked at me slightly.
“Now,” I added, “it’s just normal.” That word sat between us for a second: normal, not exciting, not dramatic. Just steady. He leaned slightly forward, elbows on his knees. “I like this version,” he said quietly. I tilted my head. “Me or the situation.”

"Both," he said. That got me smiling a little. “Careful,” I said. “You’re getting soft.”
“I’m not," he replied.
“You are,” I said. “Just selectively.” That made him glance at me again, not defensively. Just observing. Then he said, "Selectively" is accurate. I laughed under my breath.

“Of course it is.” We stayed like that for a while longer; the house was quiet again. Evening settling outside the windows And somewhere in the middle of it, I realized something without it being announced in any big way.

This wasn’t a visit anymore. This wasn’t a temporary space. This was just… Where I was, where I went Where I came back to And when I said nothing for a while, he didn’t question it. Because he already knew too Later, I stood up first and went to the kitchen. Opened cabinets like I owned them Because I do now.
I heard him follow after a few seconds. Not rushing, just there. I didn’t turn around when I spoke.

“You ever think about how weird this would look to us a few years ago,” I said.
"Yes," he said. I glanced back at him. “That’s it?”
“It would have seemed unlikely,” he corrected.

I smiled. “That’s a very you answer.” He leaned against the counter opposite me. “But not impossible,” he added. That made me pause slightly. Then I nodded slowly. “Yeah,” I said. “Not impossible.” A quiet beat.

Then I said it out loud, casually, like I was talking about something simple. “I think this is just life now.” He looked at me for a second, then nodded. "Yes," he said. No hesitation, no doubt. Just agreement, like it had already been accepted long before the words were spoken. I leaned back against the counter slightly.
“Okay,” I said softly. "Good."

And that was it. No ending speech No dramatic closure Just two people standing in a kitchen in a house that had slowly stopped feeling like a place they visited… and started feeling like the place they stayed Talon looked at me again. Still calm, still steady. Then said quietly,

"This is it," he said, and I nodded once. “Yeah,” I said, and neither of us corrected it. Because we didn’t need to, this wasn’t a phase anymore. It wasn’t waiting for something to begin; it already had. And it wasn’t going anywhere.

I woke up that morning with this weird calm I couldn’t really explain. Not nervous, calm Not excited panic, just… steady, like my body already knew today mattered, even if my brain was still catching up. Graduation day at Maylan University and the end of this chapter of my life.
I stared at the ceiling for a second before getting up, letting it hit me properly. I actually did it. All the late nights All the stress All the moments where I thought I was barely holding things together. It all led here. I sat up slowly, grabbed my phone, and saw a message already waiting.

Talon.
"We're coming.”

I smiled a little before even thinking about it. Because of course they were The Blackwell family doesn’t do “maybe” on days like this.

Talon

She didn’t say anything back right away. That was fine. I already knew she saw it. Graduation days change energy. Not just for the person walking For everything around them My mother had already been coordinating timing since early morning. Not in a loud way Just structured like always. My father was reviewing something unrelated in the car like this was just another scheduled appearance, not a milestone.

Amy, of course, was the one making it feel less formal than it should’ve been. “You’re being weirdly quiet,” she said to me in the back seat.
“I’m not.”

“You are," she said. I glanced at her. “I’m observing.” She rolled her eyes. “You always say that," she said because it’s usually true, but today wasn’t about me. Not really. Today was about Aurelia. And how far she had actually come without ever losing herself in the process That mattered more than people understood. Even if they didn’t say it out loud.

Aurelia

When I got to campus, everything already felt different, not because the place changed but because I did. The air was full of people in caps and gowns, families everywhere, cameras, noise, laughter, and that weird mix of chaos and celebration that only happens at endings like this. Dani found me first.
“Okay,” she said immediately, grabbing my arms. "You actually did it.”

I laughed. “Yes, I did it.”
“You sound too calm," she said.
“I think I’m in shock.”
“That’s better.” she said

We walked together toward the main area where everyone was gathering. And that’s when I saw them. The Blackwells weren’t loud. They didn’t need to be. They were just… there. His father stood like he belonged in any room. His mother was calm, composed, looking around like she was taking in the moment properly instead of rushing through it. Amy was waving at me immediately when she saw me.

And Talon standing slightly apart, watching Like he always does But when his eyes met mine, everything else faded just a bit. Not in a dramatic way Just… focus. I walked toward them without thinking too much about it. Because at some point, this stopped feeling like entering a different world. And started feeling like walking into mine too. Amy reached me first and hugged me immediately.

“You’re graduating,” she said like she still couldn’t believe it.
I laughed softly. “Yeah, that’s usually how it works.”
She pulled back smiling. “Shut up, I’m emotional," she said.

Talon’s mother stepped closer after that. She didn’t hug me tightly or make a big scene. Just placed a hand on my shoulder gently Proud in a quiet way “You’ve done very well,” she said.
I smiled. “Thank you.”