Even after that day. I didn’t walk away.43Please respect copyright.PENANAfXnlIbV1pC
Maybe some would call it foolish, staying when it’s clear the story’s changing.43Please respect copyright.PENANAO1tPFrYEwZ
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.43Please respect copyright.PENANAT8ar9ynu50
I just… wanted to be someone who stayed.43Please respect copyright.PENANA6J8nvtdjaQ
Even when the conversations got shorter.43Please respect copyright.PENANARgZPcdyMHr
Even when the places we used to meet felt emptier.43Please respect copyright.PENANAZOMYnWwvPO
Even when her smile started showing up beside someone else.
I stayed.
Because true friendship isn’t about keeping someone close.43Please respect copyright.PENANAXGONV7Aojj
It’s about being the quiet presence they can return to — if they ever need.43Please respect copyright.PENANAQIfCYUbJ29
No pressure. No expectations. Just… loyalty in silence.43Please respect copyright.PENANAc4PrNXhri5
43Please respect copyright.PENANAB9qcoLO6gE
Watching things change without a reason I could point to.43Please respect copyright.PENANAlxxd2kas15
Seeing Ren in the spaces I once filled — yeah, it stung.43Please respect copyright.PENANAdZWiC06mMs
But if she’s happy, if her world is lighter because of someone else’s presence…43Please respect copyright.PENANAXNnLpRQxQl
Then who am I to be bitter?
I wasn’t there to own her.43Please respect copyright.PENANANACpAe9gUW
I was there to know her.43Please respect copyright.PENANAY7ClupdxDe
And I still do. Even if it’s from a little farther now.
Sometimes, you don’t have to be someone’s everything.43Please respect copyright.PENANAm9eMaiBpZL
Sometimes, being someone who understands — who accepts, who supports from the background —43Please respect copyright.PENANAklhNt9ZJp9
That’s enough.
Even in shadows, I chose to stay in her light.43Please respect copyright.PENANA03hlKFGwY5
And if someday she ever turns to see who never left —43Please respect copyright.PENANA9lWT49KBDi
She’ll find me exactly where I’ve always been.