The wedding had begun to quiet down.
Golden dusk settled over the garden, casting long shadows across the grass as the last of the guests wandered off with soft goodbyes and laughter. Selene sat on a wooden bench under a string of warm lights, their cameras and notebooks resting beside her, shoes dusted with gravel and petals.
Evan after saying Good Byes to the bridal party and Adam, came and sat next to selene.
Selene leaned back, legs stretched out, face tilted toward the sky. Her cheeks were a little flushed from the sun and the day's work, but her eyes… they looked rested.
"You seem different today," Evan said, watching her from the corner of his eye.
She blinked. "Do I?"
"Yeah. Like you've slept in a week's worth of peace."
She chuckled. "That's just because I didn't talk to you for hours."
"Ouch," he muttered, feigning offense.
They fell quiet again. A breeze passed through, rustling the trees gently.
"So," Evan said after a moment, "what are you planning next?"
She was quiet for a beat before asking softly, "What about you?"
"I'm leaving tomorrow morning." His voice was casual, like it didn't mean much.
She didn't answer right away. She just nodded, looking away. Not letting her expression show anything.
"And you?" he asked, glancing at her.
"I'll stay," she said simply. "I want to live here. Alone. Where no one knows me."
Evan looked at her for a long moment. "So, you're here to escape."
She turned to him slowly.
He gave a soft laugh, watching the way the wind caught her hair, "You don't really feel alone in places like this. Not the way you do when you're sitting in your room, doing nothing, with too much silence and nowhere to put your thoughts."
She raised an eyebrow, curious.
He shook his head. "You feel truly alone in crowds. When people are laughing and talking around you, brushing past you like you're not even there… that's when it hits."
Selene stared at him, eyes a little narrowed, like she was trying to place him in a frame that never quite stayed still.
After a pause, she said, "You are right. I don't feel alone here."
He looked at her.
She added, with a hint of a smile, "You're always bothering me."
Evan laughed, tipping his head back.
Then his tone shifted—just slightly.
"Come with me."
Selene turned to him, confused.
"I mean it," he said, eyes steady on hers. "I'll take you to places where you won't need to hide. Where the silence feels like a gift, not a punishment."
Her lips parted as if to respond, but nothing came out. There was something about the way he was looking at her—hopeful, calm, like he wasn't asking to save her, just… to walk with her for a while.
She met his gaze.
"I don't know what you're looking for… but I can take you to places where you just might find it." And then he smiled. Not his usual smirk, but something warmer. Something real.