Twisted Plot

CHAPTER 20

The cemetery was quiet, wrapped in morning mist and birdsong. Ramiel stood before a modest headstone nestled beneath a jacaranda tree, its lilac petals drifting softly to the ground.

"Harmony Arendse Ndlovu."
"1989 – 2020" 
"A soul who loved in silence and gave in fullness."

He had read those words a hundred times before. Today, they gutted him.

He sank to the ground, sitting cross-legged like a boy again. The envelope felt heavier now than it ever had. He held it in both hands, heart pounding as though it knew the truth waiting to be unleashed.

He breathed in.

And opened it.

"My dearest Ramiel,

If you're reading this… it means I’m gone. And before anything else, I need you to know: I never wanted it to end this way.

But life doesn’t follow our timelines, and love… love waits for no one.

Ramiel’s hands trembled.

I never told you because I was afraid. Afraid that you wouldn't remember me. Afraid you wouldn't want to. But I carried you in my heart for ten years. From the first time I saw you standing at your sister’s wedding, laughing like the world could never touch you to Paris, where time finally gave me a moment I’ll never regret.

That night, we didn’t talk much. But in your silence, I found safety. In your eyes, I saw something familiar—like I had finally arrived somewhere I'd been aching for.

And then… there was Aria.

You didn’t know. I didn’t tell you. I wanted to, I planned to. But when I found out about your condition, and they told me I was a match—I chose you. I chose to give you a chance. Because I loved you enough to leave without being seen."

Tears slipped down Ramiel’s cheeks as he clutched the paper like it could dissolve in his hands.

"Our daughter is sunlight, Ramiel. She laughs like she’s never known pain. She paints with colors I didn’t even teach her. She has your stubborn eyes and my crooked smile. Please love her the way I loved you—from the very edges of my soul.

Don’t look for me in the stars. Look for me in her.

All my love,
Harmony."

Ramiel leaned forward, forehead pressing to the cool stone.

He wept.

Not just for Harmony, but for the time lost. For the unspoken words. For the beauty that bloomed and vanished before he ever held it.

Hours passed like minutes. By the time he stood again, the mist had lifted, and the sun filtered gently through the jacaranda branches.

He pulled out his phone.

A single photo of Aria lit up the screen smiling, holding her lion painting.

“I’ll give her everything,” he whispered to the wind. “I swear.”

He walked away from the grave with his chest broken wide open—raw, but ready.

Harmony had given him more than life.

She had given him purpose.

And a second chance.

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You don't know how I waited to just write this chapter. I'm sorry if you are not impressed by the outcome of events but not every love story deserves a happy ending. Final chapter loading.....