The sky awoke with a golden tinge, as if the previous night had washed away all the accumulated pain. Ana watched the sunrise from the hill where years ago she dreamed of escaping... where she had been a child, a prisoner, and at last, a woman.
Beside her, a white butterfly rested on a wildflower. Small. Fragile. Free.
Anne looked at it with tenderness and a tired smile. It was like seeing herself, at last, unchained.
It had been weeks since she had left the mansion behind, since she had broken the last tie to the past. But some chains, she knew, were not broken by screaming or fire. They were loosened when one decided to live, not just survive.
The wind blew softly. And with it came Lucian.
He no longer dressed like an ice prince. There were no jewels, no expensive suits, no words of power. Just a man, empty-handed and bare-hearted.
-I thought you wouldn't come," said Ana without looking at him.
-I didn't want to come like before... wanting to take you, wanting to possess you. This time I came to let you choose.
Ana watched him silently. Lucian's eyes no longer shone with obsession, but with something new. Something rarer in him: humility.
-I hurt you," he continued. I loved you so much... I mistook love for power. I thought if I protected you, if I kept you with me, you'd be safe. But I locked you away. And even though I understand now... I don't know if I deserve to be part of what's coming for you.
Ana looked down. It still hurt. But it wasn't the same pain.
It was scarring.
And scars, she knew, were witnesses that she had survived.
-I don't know if we can erase the past, Lucian," she whispered. But I am no longer the broken girl you once knew. Nor am I the puppet I let myself be.
He looked at her, and Anne knew he was waiting for her verdict. Not on her knees. Not begging. Just... waiting.
Ana approached him slowly. She took his hand. Hers was still trembling, but not with fear.
-I don't want us to forget what we were," she said. I want us to learn from it. I don't choose you because you saved me, or because you took care of me. I choose you because this time... I chose me first.
Lucian closed his eyes, and for the first time in his life, he cried without shame.
The white butterfly took flight.
And together, Anne and Lucian walked into the dawn, not as master and servant, not as redeemer and rescued, but as two broken souls who learned to heal.
The world did not stop.
The rain would return.
The pain would return.
But so would love.
And as Ana walked away, she heard a whisper inside her. A farewell to all that had been.
Goodbye, little butterfly.
Welcome to life.