His silence at first killed her, but she learnt to live with it.

Still, she could not hide the fact she was depressed. Her family saw it, her close friends did, although the façade she wore fooled everyone but the ones she needed to fool the most. Her mother was kind to her, friends kept an unusually strong lookout for her, and her family treated her delicately. Small changes, small comfort.

She would encourage him in whatever it did, even if it killed her. Even if it broke her heart eventually.

Because wasn’t loving someone meant letting them go? Didn’t it?

Author’s note: This is NOT about me. The story was inspired by a close friend. For additional insight, the stories should be read in order:

Part 1 (this story)
Part 2
Part 3