Sofia didn’t check her phone right away.
Wrapped in Ethan’s arms, hearing his heartbeat steady itself against her cheek, everything else faded into the background. For the first time since she’d arrived, she felt like things were taking shape—solid, hopeful, real.
But when they finally returned to his room, the sun already beginning its slow descent, she reached into her pocket and felt her phone still buzzing.
Not once.
Not twice.
But several times.
Ethan noticed her hesitation as she sat at the edge of the bed. “Something wrong?”
She forced a small smile. “Probably just messages from Italy.”
He tilted his head. “Work?”
“Probably.”
Maybe.
She unlocked her phone.
Twenty-two unread messages.
Her heart dropped.
They were all from the museum.
Some were excited.
Some urgent.
Some… almost panicked.
The most recent one read:
“Sofia, we need confirmation. The Florence project is accelerating. If you accept, we need you here in three weeks.”
She froze.
Three weeks.
Not two months.
Not time to ease into a plan.
Three weeks.
Ethan watched her face carefully, and even though she tried to hide the storm forming inside her, he noticed every flicker of emotion.
“What is it?” he asked gently.
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Sofia looked up, forcing a calm she didn’t feel. “The job offer… they’ve moved the schedule.”
He swallowed. “Moved… how much?”
She hesitated.
Then whispered, “They want me there in three weeks.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Thick.
Unspoken things filling the air like fog.
Ethan looked down at his hands. He didn’t say anything for a long moment. When he finally did, his voice was steady but soft.
“And you… you want to go?”
Her breath hitched. “I don’t want to leave you.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
She bit her lip, tears burning behind her eyes. “Ethan, it’s my dream. The kind of opportunity people wait their whole careers for.”
He nodded.
Slowly.
Stiffly.
“And I want you to have it,” he said. “I want you to do what you’ve worked for your whole life.”
She stepped closer and took his hands. “But I don’t want to lose us again.”
He closed his eyes.
That hurt.
More than he expected.
“Sofia,” he murmured, “you’re not going to lose me.”
Her voice cracked. “You say that like it’s simple.”
“Because it is,” he whispered. “We choose each other. We said that.”
“And we meant it,” she whispered back. “But three weeks? You’re still recovering. You’re not ready to fly across the world.”
He exhaled slowly, gripping her hands.
“So we do distance.”
Her heart squeezed painfully. “Ethan…”
He forced a smile, the kind that didn’t reach his eyes. “Hey. Camila and I managed long distance for years.”
Sofia stiffened—not out of jealousy, but because she heard the unspoken weight behind his words.
That relationship didn’t survive.
He saw the flicker in her expression. “I’m not comparing,” he said quickly. “I’m just… I’m saying it’s possible.”
She sat beside him. “Do you want distance?”
He didn’t answer right away.
Instead, he turned his face away, staring at the opposite wall as if answers were written on it.
“No,” he finally whispered. “But I want you more than I want what’s easy.”
Tears slid down her cheeks.
He reached up and wiped one gently. “You’re shaking,” he murmured.
“Because I’m scared,” she said. “I’m scared of choosing wrong. I’m scared of hurting you. I’m scared that—”
He pressed a finger lightly to her lips, stopping her.
“Sofia. Breathe.”
She inhaled shakily.
“You’re not choosing between your dream and me,” he whispered. “You’re choosing how to make both work.”
She leaned her forehead against his shoulder.
“But I don’t know how,” she whispered.
“And we don’t have to know today,” he said. “Or tomorrow. Or next week. But we will figure it out.”
She closed her eyes, letting the warmth of him calm the panic spiraling inside her.
But then he added something that made her freeze completely.
“Sofia… if you want me to come with you… say it.”
Her breath caught.
“Ethan…”
“Say it,” he repeated softly. “If that’s what you want, tell me. I’ll find a way. I’ll take medical leave. I’ll move to Italy. Just tell me that’s what you want.”
Her heart ached.
Part of her wanted to scream YES
Drag him into her world
Start their life together now
But another part—the rational, cautious, deeply terrified part—knew the reality.
“You can’t make that choice because of me,” she whispered.
“Why not?” he asked quietly.
“Because you’ve sacrificed enough,” she said, voice trembling. “Your life has been service and loss and responsibility. You deserve to choose for you, not for me.”
He stared at her.
Then he took her chin gently and turned her face toward his.
“Sofia. Loving you isn’t a sacrifice.”
She burst into tears.
He pulled her into him, holding her while she cried against his chest, her fists gripping his shirt, his hand stroking her hair.
Minutes passed before she spoke again.
“Ethan… I need time to think.”
He nodded against her hair. “Then take it.”
She looked up at him with red, wet eyes. “And you?”
“I already made my choice,” he whispered.
“You.”
She kissed him softly—broken, desperate, full of fear and love and everything in between.
When they parted, her phone buzzed again.
They both looked at it.
Another message from Italy.
“Sofia, please respond soon. We need your answer.”
She exhaled shakily, her voice barely audible.
“What if choosing my dream means losing him again?”
But Ethan’s voice was steady.
“You won’t lose me.”
She looked at him—and part of her believed it.
Part of her didn’t.
Because sometimes life didn’t care about love.
Sometimes timing was cruel.
Sometimes dreams came with a price.
And sometimes… choosing the right path meant risking everything.
Sofia wiped her eyes, steadied her breathing, and said:
“Tomorrow. I’ll decide tomorrow.”
Ethan nodded, though his heart twisted at the uncertainty.
He reached for her hand.
She took it.
But neither of them slept easily that night.
Because both knew…
Tomorrow would change everything.
