———

She didn't expect the distance to make their bond stronger. 

At first, she had worried it would break whatever fragile connection they had built. That without his constant presence—without the familiarity of him watching her from the shadows, of their quiet moments together—whatever was between them would fade. 

But it didn't. 

If anything, it deepened. 

D'kazi had kept his word. 

After that night at Gallery of Ink, he hadn't chased her. 

He hadn't gone back to his old ways. 

He had let her set the pace. 

And even though they didn't see each other for weeks after that night, he was still there—just in a different way. 

She would wake up to texts from him, short and to the point. 

D'kazi: Good morning.

Or late at night— 

D'kazi: You should sleep.

Sometimes, it was nothing more than a single emoji in response to something she posted, or a quiet acknowledgment that he was thinking about her. 

And somehow, that meant more than all the nights he had spent watching her from the dark. 

Because this time, it was a choice. 

And it was her choice, too. 

She started texting him first sometimes. 

Started telling him about her day, asking about his. 

And even though his responses were always short, always careful, they were real. 

And for the first time since she had met him, she realized he was trying. 

---

———

It was harder than he thought it would be. 

Keeping his word. 

Not seeing her. 

Not knowing where she was at all times. 

But he did it. 

Because she had asked him to. 

Because he wanted her to know that he could be more than the man who lurked in the shadows. 

More than the obsession he had once let himself become. 

So he didn't follow her. 

Didn't check in on her when she wasn't looking. 

Didn't chase her. 

Instead, he let the silence between them settle. 

Let her decide when to reach out. 

And when she did, when her name appeared on his screen for the first time in days— 

It was like something inside him finally eased. 

Because she hadn't forgotten him. 

Because she wanted this, too. 

Even if she didn't fully understand why yet. 

Even if she was still figuring out what she felt. 

D'kazi could wait. 

Because for the first time in his life, waiting didn't feel like losing.

It felt like building. 

And that was something he had never had before.