Even after that day. I didn’t walk away.123Please respect copyright.PENANAuIUPev2zDf
Maybe some would call it foolish, staying when it’s clear the story’s changing.123Please respect copyright.PENANAgQNqjvKTgZ
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.123Please respect copyright.PENANAkYNYi2sUY7
I just… wanted to be someone who stayed.123Please respect copyright.PENANALQ4tLsD7Un
Even when the conversations got shorter.123Please respect copyright.PENANAjDPnMGNNBp
Even when the places we used to meet felt emptier.123Please respect copyright.PENANAh6UjMlfVxt
Even when her smile started showing up beside someone else.
I stayed.
Because true friendship isn’t about keeping someone close.123Please respect copyright.PENANAxGaQL8Kr6h
It’s about being the quiet presence they can return to — if they ever need.123Please respect copyright.PENANAWcPJa2Ermi
No pressure. No expectations. Just… loyalty in silence.123Please respect copyright.PENANASY9ixLw3xl
123Please respect copyright.PENANAb4tHPfZiyG
Watching things change without a reason I could point to.123Please respect copyright.PENANAM3ZdO7lpw6
Seeing Ren in the spaces I once filled — yeah, it stung.123Please respect copyright.PENANAQMfS2Qf9lL
But if she’s happy, if her world is lighter because of someone else’s presence…123Please respect copyright.PENANA1625qG5HI6
Then who am I to be bitter?
I wasn’t there to own her.123Please respect copyright.PENANAgpMUdL4eO1
I was there to know her.123Please respect copyright.PENANAkt4HGpehuH
And I still do. Even if it’s from a little farther now.
Sometimes, you don’t have to be someone’s everything.123Please respect copyright.PENANARQIiqXjb0C
Sometimes, being someone who understands — who accepts, who supports from the background —123Please respect copyright.PENANALcMCJzx2s4
That’s enough.
Even in shadows, I chose to stay in her light.123Please respect copyright.PENANAOhV6ccy67c
And if someday she ever turns to see who never left —123Please respect copyright.PENANAhpCWcaEO6u
She’ll find me exactly where I’ve always been.