Even after that day. I didn’t walk away.152Please respect copyright.PENANAu8IbYxaExg
Maybe some would call it foolish, staying when it’s clear the story’s changing.152Please respect copyright.PENANAvktuBHkuLb
But I never stayed for some happy ending.
I stayed because I cared.
And isn’t that what I’ve always done?
From the beginning, I never asked to be her priority.152Please respect copyright.PENANAFgHuVinZyq
I just… wanted to be someone who stayed.152Please respect copyright.PENANAG6uftRib6V
Even when the conversations got shorter.152Please respect copyright.PENANAj7M97DrZP4
Even when the places we used to meet felt emptier.152Please respect copyright.PENANAbCGc0HVCYS
Even when her smile started showing up beside someone else.
I stayed.
Because true friendship isn’t about keeping someone close.152Please respect copyright.PENANATGgph7lvhO
It’s about being the quiet presence they can return to — if they ever need.152Please respect copyright.PENANAgU3NcXOsne
No pressure. No expectations. Just… loyalty in silence.152Please respect copyright.PENANADksCxuGjiP
152Please respect copyright.PENANABo3kAlKAcK
Watching things change without a reason I could point to.152Please respect copyright.PENANAuRkjNIRucv
Seeing Ren in the spaces I once filled — yeah, it stung.152Please respect copyright.PENANAqrNoIsnXxD
But if she’s happy, if her world is lighter because of someone else’s presence…152Please respect copyright.PENANAgaJ2Q5fWvO
Then who am I to be bitter?
I wasn’t there to own her.152Please respect copyright.PENANAaNLRijzQBr
I was there to know her.152Please respect copyright.PENANABLFyCJYSi8
And I still do. Even if it’s from a little farther now.
Sometimes, you don’t have to be someone’s everything.152Please respect copyright.PENANARDeVbRTpEF
Sometimes, being someone who understands — who accepts, who supports from the background —152Please respect copyright.PENANAELPgtL3XTs
That’s enough.
Even in shadows, I chose to stay in her light.152Please respect copyright.PENANADZq1jq0bNr
And if someday she ever turns to see who never left —152Please respect copyright.PENANAvpqWSZNafk
She’ll find me exactly where I’ve always been.