That afternoon, the sky stretched wide and blue above them, the sun casting a golden shimmer across the ocean as Mia and Ethan walked along the jagged cliffs. The wind danced through their hair, carrying with it the briny scent of salt and the distant cry of seabirds. For a while, they walked in silence, their hands intertwined, the sound of the waves crashing far below a soothing, endless rhythm. But within Mia, a different kind of tide was churning—one not so easily calmed.
She stopped near the edge, where the cliff dipped steeply down into a sea of frothing whitecaps. The vastness before her, the infinite dance of water and wind, struck something deep. There was beauty in the chaos, in the ebb and flow that never ceased. It reminded her how little in life could be controlled, how plans, no matter how carefully made, could shift like sand underfoot.
"You seem quiet," Ethan said gently, coming to stand beside her, his presence grounding. His voice was careful, like he didn't want to break something fragile.
Mia turned toward him, her smile automatic but tired at the edges. "I'm just thinking," she said, her voice almost lost in the wind.
He searched her face with quiet intensity. "About the wedding?"
She hesitated, and in that moment, the space between them seemed to stretch, not in distance, but in meaning. Her eyes returned to the horizon. "About everything, really. Us. The future. I feel like there's so much I haven't figured out yet. Getting engaged—it felt perfect. It was perfect. But I'm starting to wonder if I said yes because it felt right in the moment… or because I thought it was what I should do."
Ethan didn't speak right away. Instead, he squeezed her hand gently, his touch both steady and patient. "Mia, we don't have to rush," he said finally, his tone reassuring. "There's no clock ticking here. If you need time, take it. I love you. That doesn't change just because you're sorting through things."
His words were like a balm, and yet they stirred something bittersweet inside her. She loved him—there was no doubt in her heart about that. Ethan had always been her safe place, her constant. But love, she was realizing, wasn't a cure-all. It couldn't erase the questions she had about who she was apart from him, or what kind of life she truly wanted to build—not the life she'd imagined as a little girl or the one people assumed she'd pursue, but the one that would make her feel whole.
"I'm sure I love you," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the wind. "I just... I think I need to figure out who I am outside of this, before I commit to building something permanent. I've carried so much—old fears, doubts, even guilt—and I'm still learning how to let go of it all. I want to come into our marriage whole, not hiding pieces of myself I haven't fully understood."
Ethan nodded, his eyes reflecting a quiet strength that made her chest ache. "Then that's what we'll do," he said. "Whatever it takes. I'd rather wait and be certain than rush and leave something behind. I'm here. However long it takes."
Tears prickled in Mia's eyes—not out of sadness, but from the overwhelming mix of love, relief, and fear. She leaned into him, letting the wind whip around them, letting the ocean roar its wild song beneath their feet. In that moment, she didn't have all the answers. But she had the courage to ask the questions—and someone willing to walk beside her while she found her way.