!EPILOGUE!

BILLS POV

it's weird, you know? after everything—after all the fights, the confusion, the nights spent wondering if i was doing the right thing—it feels like everything finally makes sense.

claudia... she's what i needed. not what i thought i wanted, but exactly what i needed. when we first started, it was all fire and intensity—like we were both trying to fill holes in ourselves that had been empty for too long. we didn't need words to understand each other. there was this quiet understanding between us, something that didn't come from forcing something that wasn't there.

she's calm, steady. where i'm erratic and lost, she's the one who pulls me back to earth, reminds me that i don't always have to be in control. she's the reason i stopped chasing ghosts of people i thought i needed, like you.

and you... you were always there, always by my side. we were the best of friends, and i'll never regret that. you gave me everything without asking for anything in return.

but i realized something when you started getting close to finneas—he was always the one you needed. you two fit together in ways i couldn't give you. he's good for you in a way i could never be. he's steady, like claudia, but in a different way. he calms the storm in you. he sees you. really sees you, and that's what you deserve.

i remember how it felt when i saw you with him for the first time—how it tore at me, but also how it made sense. because i knew deep down, you weren't mine to keep. you were never meant to be with me.

and now, i think we've all found where we belong. claudia and i, we have something real. and you and finneas? well, that's something else entirely.

you two are the kind of couple that people envy—stable, calm, full of understanding. no drama. no pretending. just real.

i see you, happy with him, and it's like the final piece of the puzzle clicks into place. i'm glad you're with him. truly. because it means you've found the kind of love that i couldn't give you. and i've found mine, too.

so, maybe it was all worth it. all the mistakes, the confusion, the pain. because now i can finally let go.

i can be with claudia, and i can let you be with finneas, where you belong.

we're all better now. all of us. and that's enough.

END OF CHAPTER.

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