A week passed in a blur. Raine functioned on autopilot, moving through her days as if underwater—everything slow, muffled, and heavy.
She kept telling herself she had no right to grieve like this.
After all, Celeste had never even been hers.
But none of that stopped the ache in her chest.
And then, the letter arrived.
It came in an unassuming envelope, carried by a lawyer Raine had never met.
"Miss Everly?" The man stood at the entrance of her bookstore, his suit crisp, his expression carefully neutral.
"Yes?"
"My name is Daniel Hayes. I handled Miss Laurent's estate."
Raine's heart stilled.
Estate.
That word made it real in a way nothing else had.
"I have something for you," the man continued. "Per her final request."
She barely remembered inviting him inside.
Barely remembered sitting down as he placed the envelope in front of her.
Her name was written on it.
In Celeste's handwriting.
Her fingers trembled as she picked it up.
"She left instructions," the lawyer said gently. "And… not just the letter."
Raine looked up, confused.
"Miss Laurent has left all of her possessions to you," he explained. "Her apartment, her savings, and… her guitar."
Raine couldn't speak.
Her throat tightened, and she stared at him as if he had spoken another language.
"…What?"
The lawyer hesitated. "You were the only one she named in her will."
Raine shook her head. "That doesn't make sense."
Celeste had rejected her. Had pushed her away at every turn.
And yet—
She had left everything to her?
"She wanted you to have it," the lawyer said. "Especially the letter."
Raine forced herself to look down at the envelope again.
It was real.
It was here.
Celeste's last words.
When the lawyer left, she sat in silence, staring at the letter for what felt like hours.
Her hands wouldn't move.
She wasn't ready for this.
She would never be ready for this.
But eventually, she opened it.
And she read.
—
Raine,
I never wanted you to find out this way.
If you're reading this, it means I'm gone. And I know you must be angry. You always wanted answers I never gave you. And I never will, not in the way you deserve.
I was sick for a long time. I knew it when I met you. I knew I wouldn't have long. And I didn't want to burden you with that.
So I kept my distance. I pushed you away. I let you think I was cold and indifferent, because that was easier than letting you love someone who wouldn't be here to love you back.
But the truth is… I did love you.
I loved you in every quiet moment, in every stolen glance, in every book you recommended that I pretended not to care about.
I loved you in all the ways I was too much of a coward to admit.
And I am sorry.
I am so, so sorry.
Maybe in another life, I would have been brave enough to stay.
But in this one, all I can do is leave you these pieces of me.
My guitar. My music. My love, even if it came too late.
I hope you find happiness, even without me.
Goodbye, Raine.
-Celeste
—
Raine's hands shook as she lowered the letter.
Tears blurred her vision, silent and unstoppable.
Celeste had loved her.
All this time.
Even when she rejected her.
Even when she walked away.
Even when she was dying.
Raine let out a choked breath, pressing the letter to her chest as if she could hold Celeste just one more time.
But it was too late.
It would always be too late.