Chapter 4 :

Three days later, Juliette finally returned to the library.

She wasn’t sure why she had avoided it. Maybe she had been hoping that if she ignored it, the feelings would go away. That if she gave herself time, she’d forget the weight of the words she had written.

But she hadn’t.

And she needed to know if he had responded.

Taking a steadying breath, she pulled the book from the shelf and flipped to the familiar page.

Her heart clenched.

His reply was there.

"I think we all leave pieces of our hearts with people who never realize they have them. And maybe, if they had known, things would have been different."

She swallowed, feeling an unexpected burn in her chest.

But there was more.

"Blue, do you ever wonder if some love stories aren’t meant to be rewritten, but started over?"

Juliette’s fingers tightened around the edges of the book. She re-read the words, again and again, as if searching for some hidden meaning between the lines.

Did he mean himself? Did he mean… them?

Her heart pounded as she picked up her pen.

"Maybe. But what if the past never really lets go?"

She paused before adding:

"Ink, are you trying to start over?"

She closed the book, her hands trembling slightly.

Because this time, it felt like she wasn’t just asking about him.

She was asking about herself.

Juliette had never felt this restless before.

The moment she left the library, her mind was a storm of thoughts. Had she been too forward? Would Ink even answer?

Or worse… had she just opened a door she wasn’t ready to walk through?

By the time she got back to her flat, her roommate Sophie took one look at her and raised an eyebrow.

"You look like you’ve seen a ghost," Sophie said, tossing a packet of crisps onto the coffee table.

Juliette hesitated. She had never told Sophie about the notes. It had been her secret, something too delicate to share.

But suddenly, she wanted to say it out loud.

"Soph, have you ever… met someone without really meeting them?"

Sophie frowned. "Like online dating?"

"No," Juliette said quickly. "I mean—what if you only knew their words? Not their face, not their name. Just… their thoughts."

Sophie crunched down on a crisp, considering. "Sounds like a Jane Austen novel waiting to happen."

Juliette exhaled, flopping onto the couch. "It’s complicated."

"Complicated is just another word for interesting."

Juliette huffed a laugh. Maybe Sophie was right. Maybe it was interesting. Or maybe she was in way over her head.

Gabriel arrived at the library later than usual, his heart already racing before he even touched the poetry book.

He flipped to their page.

Her words were waiting for him.

"Ink, are you trying to start over?"

He exhaled sharply. She had turned the question on him.

What was he supposed to say?

That he wanted to believe in second chances? That he wanted to believe two strangers could find something real in the space between ink and paper?

Maybe it was ridiculous.

But when was love ever rational?

He picked up his pen.

"Blue, what if I said yes?"

The moment he wrote it, he hesitated. It was the first time his words had felt like an outright confession.

And yet, he didn’t erase them.

Instead, he added:

"If we ever met, would you want to know my name?"

He closed the book and placed it back on the shelf, his pulse hammering.

Because for the first time, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to stay anonymous.

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