Milo was exactly where she thought he'd be.
At the edge of the cliff behind the inn, cigarette in one hand, his back to the sea. The wind tore at his shirt, but he didn't move. It was the kind of place that begged for a fall.
Lina approached slowly.
He didn't turn. "You've been writing."
"Yes."
Silence hung, taut and waiting.
"I talked to Giulia," she said.
That got him. His shoulder twitched. Barely.
"She said she saw someone that night. Pulling me out of the boat. Said it might've been you."
Milo exhaled, long and careful. "It was."
Lina's heartbeat was a drum in her ears. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Would you have believed me?"
She stepped closer. "I might've."
"I didn't want to be a part of your story, Lina. I didn't want to be another chapter you had to survive."
"You're not," she said. "You're something else. I don't know what yet."
He turned to face her. The wind pushed his hair back and made his eyes look darker.
"I was walking the coast that night. I couldn't sleep. Heard screaming. When I got there, the boat was half-splintered against the rocks, and you were slumped over the side. Bleeding. Barely breathing."
Lina didn't look away. "And Theo?"
Milo's face changed. "He was already gone."
"Did you see what happened?"
"No." His voice cracked. "Just you. Floating in a world that had already ended."
She folded her arms tightly. "I need to ask you something. And I want the truth."
He nodded once.
"Did I kill him?"
The wind dropped for a second—like the sea itself paused to listen.
Milo stepped closer. His voice was a whisper meant only for her. "No. You were fighting, yes. Angry, yes. But he slipped. He grabbed you and lost his footing. You didn't push him."
Lina's throat tightened. "How do you know?"
"Because I found your phone on the deck. It had been recording."
Her knees nearly gave.
"You've had it this whole time?"
"I watched it once. And then never again. Because I knew if I showed you too soon, it would become a punishment instead of a release."
Lina backed away, one hand against her chest. "You decided that for me?"
"I tried to protect you."
She laughed—bitter, raw. "You don't get to do that. You don't get to hold the answer and then stand here like some tragic fucking hero."
Milo looked gutted. "I know. But I didn't know what else to do. I saw what that night did to you. I thought... maybe if you came here, you'd remember enough to forgive yourself."
She stared at him. "And did I?"
He didn't answer.
Lina took the final step between them, inches from his chest. "You should've told me the truth. But you also saved my life. Both things are true."
He looked down at her. "And you? What are you going to do with the truth now?"
She let out a shaky breath. "Write it."
Milo smiled, but it was sad. "I figured you might say that."
Lina looked out at the sea, the same sea that had swallowed a man and nearly swallowed her. But it hadn't. She was still here.
And so was Milo.
She reached for his hand. "Come back with me. There's something you need to hear."