Mark POV
The rain was hitting the window that morning. It just kept going and going. It was like the rain was trying to tell me something.
I could not hear what it was saying. I did not get out of bed. I just lay there thinking about what happened that day.
I was thinking about the stranger and the word billionaire, and the way Lyra looked at me. These thoughts were really bothering me.
The thoughts of the stranger, the word billionaire, and Lyra's eyes were weighing me down. I could not stop thinking about the stranger and what the word billionaire meant and how Lyra's eyes looked.
When the rain stopped the world felt different. It was quiet and wet and still. I got up. I walked through the café.
The café looked familiar. It also looked foreign to me. The bell above the door made a sound as Lyra looked up from the counter. Lyra had a smile on her face.
It was a real smile that also looked uncertain. It was like Lyra was not sure what to say to me about the rain and the café and everything.
I stood there quietly for a moment. Then I spoke to them. The moment was really quiet. I was standing there. I decided to speak to the people around me.
I am sorry about what happened yesterday. I was thinking that maybe I can do something to make things right, with you. I want to make it up to you.
She shook her head gently. "You do not have to explain, Mark. I just want you to be real with me, Mark. I want Mark to be honest."
I let out a breath. I was not lying about myself or my father. I just did not tell the story. My father owns one of the companies in the city. I am the third son.
My father and I were not close. I left after everything went wrong. I needed to get out of there for my good to be, at peace.
I wanted to find my life and make my own way. My father and his company were not what I wanted. I wanted to be my own person and live my own life.
She took a step closer to him; her eyes were really soft. "Then do not go," she said. "You have built something Mark. It may not be rich. The thing you have built here, Mark, is real."
Her words really got to me. My mind was all over the place. Her words were stuck in my head. I could not stop thinking about them.
I was trying to make sense of what she said. My mind just kept racing. Her words were still echoing in my mind.
I do not want to ignore this Lyra. If I do not face this thing it will bother me all the time. My mind will not be at peace.
I will think about this every day. My mind will keep thinking about it.
I will not be able to relax. This thing is the problem. I have to deal with the problem.
Her face changed, it really did. She looked hurt. "You really think that walking away from this problem will fix everything?"
I did not answer. She was right. Running away never worked for the problem of running. The fact is, running never worked.
That night I walked the streets of Noctrya. The trees swayed back and forth in the breeze.
Birds made chirping sounds. The roads of Noctrya that had once felt free now reminded me of Noctrya.
Everything I had left behind in Noctrya. I thought about the memories of Noctrya mistakes I made in Noctrya and the regrets that happened in Noctrya. They followed me quietly. Would not go away.
I stopped outside Lyra's house. Lyra was sitting by herself, holding a cup of tea, staring into the street. Lyra did not look up.
She told me that she thought I had already gone. I had not left yet. She really thought I was already gone.
I said in a voice "I could not do that." Part of me is else.. Part of me is here, with the people I care about.
I took a step closer to you, and my voice was really quiet. I said "I do not feel like I belong without you by my side. I mean I do not belong anywhere without you."
Her eyes held mine, serious and steady. "Do not make promises you can not keep Mark."
I said anything my voice was barely loud enough to hear.
She stopped talking for a moment. "When you go home do not leave the things you found here behind."
Her words really hit me like a weight. It was like something in me changed. I felt like a new person. Her words made me feel like something was different, about me I felt new.
In the morning I packed my bag, the same bag I had taken to Noctrya before.
This time it felt lighter. It felt like I was reborn. The courage of the woman, her words, the woman's presence, all of these things were like a shield around me.
The woman's words really stayed with me.
At the station, she waved at me. I watched her stand there. She was a figure of light in the morning. The morning was really soft.
I was not running anymore. I was going back to my town. I was going back to face my past.. I was carrying the lessons of this town with me. I was carrying the lessons of this town.
The train kept going. The towns all started to look the same, just a lot of grey and green. Memories of the past went by me, some stayed with me for a moment.
Then they were gone, but they still had an effect on me. Each memory of the past left its mark on me and it helped make me the person I am today.
The memories of the past shaped the train of thought I have now and the memories of the past shaped me.
I thought about her. I remembered the day we first met when I stood up for her. I thought about the things she wrote, the way she laughed and the fact that she trusted me.
I had always been loyal to myself. Now I could be loyal to someone else too. Someone real, like her.
The streets, the café, the smell of wood and coffee. All of these things are stuck in my memory. I finally understood what she was talking about when she said I should find someone like me.
The thing is, she saw parts of herself in me. I saw parts of myself in her in the same way. The streets and the café and the smell of wood and coffee are all still, in my mind and I think about how she felt when she met me.
As the train approached Velmora my heart became very calm. I was not scared of anything. I was not running away from my problems.
I was going to face the past. This time, I had the strength I had gained from being here, and her words were still echoing in my chest.
I knew one true thing, everything that happened in Noctrya, what Noctrya and I shared and what Noctrya and I survived would stay with me.
It would guide me. It would remind me that loyalty, trust, and love were worth holding onto. Noctrya would always remind me of that.
I had learned to carry my weight, my history, and my heart. Now, I carried her too. And maybe… that was enough to face whatever came next.