Even after that day. I didn’t walk away.124Please respect copyright.PENANAqqHG55OSzk
Maybe some would call it foolish, staying when it’s clear the story’s changing.124Please respect copyright.PENANADzi8TxlXYn
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.124Please respect copyright.PENANAZKj0TBhrQj
I just… wanted to be someone who stayed.124Please respect copyright.PENANAC8bl9lcLIU
Even when the conversations got shorter.124Please respect copyright.PENANAE9NoZ7Cv7z
Even when the places we used to meet felt emptier.124Please respect copyright.PENANAPmcLaoMbf5
Even when her smile started showing up beside someone else.
I stayed.
Because true friendship isn’t about keeping someone close.124Please respect copyright.PENANAjS51RkdbOS
It’s about being the quiet presence they can return to — if they ever need.124Please respect copyright.PENANAGxKEMrVe3G
No pressure. No expectations. Just… loyalty in silence.124Please respect copyright.PENANABPFQ25DsvF
124Please respect copyright.PENANAoOJDQ02pfS
Watching things change without a reason I could point to.124Please respect copyright.PENANAZwCr77TLaB
Seeing Ren in the spaces I once filled — yeah, it stung.124Please respect copyright.PENANAHNI7zPCUWg
But if she’s happy, if her world is lighter because of someone else’s presence…124Please respect copyright.PENANAl62AqD9dkl
Then who am I to be bitter?
I wasn’t there to own her.124Please respect copyright.PENANAucMT3lVlam
I was there to know her.124Please respect copyright.PENANAh50aIY5k41
And I still do. Even if it’s from a little farther now.
Sometimes, you don’t have to be someone’s everything.124Please respect copyright.PENANAwcFDi5aZ7p
Sometimes, being someone who understands — who accepts, who supports from the background —124Please respect copyright.PENANAB9412J5QqF
That’s enough.
Even in shadows, I chose to stay in her light.124Please respect copyright.PENANAAYU5q3DDt9
And if someday she ever turns to see who never left —124Please respect copyright.PENANA747SYipydF
She’ll find me exactly where I’ve always been.