*CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT* The letter came on a Thursday afternoon. A white envelope with bold lettering: _Faculty of Law, University of..._ Tamar held it in her hands like it was a live thing, fragile, beating, pulsing with the weight of a dream she hadn’t dared believe she could hold. She opened it with trembling fingers. _We are pleased to inform you…_ The words blurred behind a flood of sudden tears. She was in. She stood in the center of the small living room, the letter pressed to her chest like a heartbeat she never thought she’d hear. After everything, after the nights she'd spent hating herself, after the years of being nothing but a shadow in someone else’s life, she was here, now here. She had chosen a new path. And now, the doors were opening. Blake and Manda cheered when she told them. Manda even screamed. “I knew you could do it!” she said, flinging her arms around Tamar, hugging her so tightly it hurt, but in the best way. That evening, a knock came at the door just as the sun dipped behind the horizon, casting the sky in orange and soft purple. Tamar opened it to find Elian standing there, wearing a dark-blue shirt and a quiet smile. “You’re dressed,” she said, noticing his polished shoes. “I figured I’d be taking a law student to dinner.” She laughed, a shaky, joy-filled laugh, and then nodded. “Give me two minutes.” The restaurant Elian chose was quiet, tucked into a corner of the island, lit by warm lights and the soft hum of jazz music. They sat by the window, a view of water in the distance reflecting the moon. “You’ve changed,” Elian said after they ordered, his voice soft, eyes not leaving her face. Tamar smiled. “Hopefully for the better.” “No, Tamar. For the best.” He leaned forward, elbows resting gently on the table. “You’re becoming the woman God always knew you were. I don’t think you see it fully yet, but I do. I see it when you defend Manda, when you help Blake with his reading, when you hold back your tears so others can breathe. And now, you’re going to study law, to fight for girls like yourself. That… that’s redemption, Tamar. That’s beauty rising from ashes.” She blinked rapidly, looking down at her fingers. “I still feel broken, Elian. Some days… I still feel like the girl who—” He reached across the table and gently took her hand in his. “But you’re not her anymore. You’re brave now. You came back.” Tamar swallowed the lump in her throat. “I couldn’t have done it without you.” “You did do it,” he said gently. “I was just a signpost. You chose to walk.” She nodded slowly, her lips pressed together. The tears were threatening to rise again. There was a pause, the kind of silence that felt like a held breath. Then Elian’s eyes shifted, softening even further. “I have to tell you something.” Her heart dipped. “What is it?” He took a breath, steadying himself. “I’m leaving the country.” The words hit like a slow echo. She blinked. “What?” “I’m being sent by Joel, it came so suddenly. He prayed about it, and when he told me, I knew it was the right next step.” Tamar stared at him, her chest tightening. “When?” “In two weeks.” The silence that followed was sharp. Tamar looked down at their hands still touching, her fingers now slightly trembling. “You’re really going?” Elian nodded. “I am.” She looked up at him then, tears pooling. “Why does it feel like everyone I care about always leaves?” He leaned in again, his hand now cupping hers more fully. “Tamar, listen to me. I’m not leaving you. Not really. You’ve got everything you need now. You’ve grown wings. You just didn’t notice. And this, this law school, this new life, it’s your sky. You’re not who you were when we first met. You’re not lost anymore.” Her lips parted, but no words came. “And I love you,” he said, voice low and true. “Not in the way that demands anything, not with pressure or expectations. I love you in the kind of way that just… wants to see you become everything God dreamed when He formed you.” Tamar’s tears fell freely now. She wiped them away, laughing bitterly. “You tell me this… and then leave?” “I have to. But I had to tell you before I go.” He smiled gently, the kind of smile that felt like a benediction. “I’m so proud of you, Tamar. So, so proud of your fight, of your fire, of your courage to come home.” “Even if I was late?” she asked through tears. “You were right on time,” he said. “God’s time.” They sat there, in a warm bubble of light and heartbreak, hands held across the table, letting the grief and gratitude of goodbye settle between them. Later that night, he walked her back to her doorstep. “I’ll keep in touch. Call you and text you everyday.” he said. “I’d look forward to it." she whispered. Elian hesitated, then reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Keep walking, Tamar. Even when it’s dark. Especially when it’s dark, because the light is already in you.” Then slowly, he pulled her into his embrace, inhaling the scent of her perfume. After he left, Tamar stood there in the doorway, the stars like scattered promises above her, the acceptance letter still alive to her, and a thousand unnamed emotions blooming quietly in her chest. He was leaving. But she wasn’t alone. She had a path now, a purpose. And for the first time in a long time… She was certain she was ready to walk it, on her own. ...