Episode 15: “Ours”

 Episode 15: “Ours”

The sun rose softly over the horizon, casting a golden glow on the cottage’s front porch.

It was quiet here. Peaceful. The kind of quiet that felt earned after every loud, painful step they had taken to get here.

Jiva sat on the porch, sipping her tea, watching the dew on the grass shimmer in the early morning light. The world outside seemed far away—no judgment, no whispers. Just the sound of nature. And in the distance, Alex’s footsteps.

She smiled to herself, thinking about how much had changed. How far they had both come.

And then he was there.

“Good morning.” His voice was warm, soft, like the day itself.

She looked up at him, her heart fluttering like it always did when he was close. “Good morning.”

Alex sat beside her, stretching his long legs out in front of him. He leaned back, arms behind his head, eyes closed.

“I still can’t believe we’re here,” he said, his voice low.

“I can,” she replied. “We earned it. Every step of the way.”

“Yeah. But I wasn’t sure it would ever feel real.”

Jiva turned to face him. She wanted to say so much, but she knew he already understood. They had both fought for this life—their life. And now it was theirs, in ways they had never imagined.

It hadn’t been easy.

The media, the backlash, the rejection. It was a constant reminder of the world they had left behind. Alex had spent months working on freelance projects, using his experience and knowledge to carve a new path outside academia. His manuscript had found a home, not as a scandal, but as an exploration of forbidden truths.

Jiva had been by his side every step of the way. She had found her own voice, too. Through her writing, she shared their journey, turning it into something more powerful than any degree could offer. Her blog, once a secret, had become a platform for anyone who felt misunderstood.

They were building something real now. Something built on trust, love, and the unshakable belief that their story wasn’t just theirs—it was everyone’s.

It was time for the next step.

Alex’s phone buzzed beside him. He picked it up, his expression changing as he read the message.

“What is it?” Jiva asked.

He didn’t answer immediately, just stared at the screen. Then he put the phone down with a sigh.

“That was the university.”

Her heart skipped. “What did they want?”

“They’re offering me a guest position. Full-time. Teaching online courses.”

Jiva’s eyes widened. “That’s huge!”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever go back, not after everything.”

“But this is different,” she said, taking his hand. “You’re not the man who left. You’re the man you became.”

He looked at her, really looked at her, as if seeing her for the first time today. There was a softness in his eyes that made her feel like the only thing that mattered in that moment was them—together.

“Do you think I’m ready?”

She smiled, her fingers brushing against his. “You were always ready. You just had to believe it.”

They made the decision together.

Alex would return to teaching, but on his terms. No more hiding. No more compromises. His curriculum would be bold—focused on ethics, emotional honesty, and human connection.

And Jiva would be there, too. Writing, speaking, sharing her truth. They would build a community, not around the lessons they had learned, but around the lessons they would teach.

The night before his first lecture, they sat on the porch again.

The stars were bright above them, and for the first time in what felt like forever, everything was calm.

“I’m nervous,” Alex admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.

Jiva leaned her head on his shoulder. “Of course you are. But you’re not doing this alone.”

“No,” he agreed, wrapping his arm around her. “I’m doing this with you.”

She kissed his cheek gently. “And with everyone who’s ever needed to hear our story.”

He smiled, pulling her closer. “You always know what to say.”

“You’re not so bad yourself,” she teased.

They sat in silence for a while, the world outside them quiet, just two people who had learned what it meant to fight, to fall, and to rise again.

The next morning, they drove to campus together.

Jiva wasn’t nervous. She had found her place in the world. Her role was clear: not just as Alex’s partner, but as an individual who had a voice worth hearing. She would continue to write, to speak, to stand alongside him in everything they built.

Alex, on the other hand, was still unsure of what exactly would come next. But he didn’t need certainty anymore.

As they parked outside the lecture hall, Alex turned to her. “You sure you’re okay with this?”

Jiva nodded. “More than okay. We’ve already walked through fire. This is just the next chapter.”

He smiled, taking her hand. “Together, then?”

“Always,” she replied.

The lecture went without a hitch.

The students, though initially wary, soon saw that Alex wasn’t the man they had read about. He was real, imperfect, but deeply human. His lectures now spoke not just of theory, but of practice—of how to live with integrity, how to connect with others without losing yourself.

And at the end of the lecture, when the room was empty and the doors closed behind them, Alex and Jiva exchanged a look—a quiet, meaningful glance that said everything.

They had made it. Together.

Back at the cottage, in the quiet that had once seemed like silence, they found peace.

It was theirs.

A future they had claimed, despite every obstacle.

Alex kissed Jiva softly. “This is ours.”

She smiled, her heart full. “And we’re only just beginning.”

End of Episode 15.

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