The morning broke soft and pale, the kind of light that clung to the horizon without quite committing to brilliance. From the cliffside, Cassie stood at the foot of the lighthouse, coffee mug in hand, staring at its weathered stone. The structure seemed to breathe with the tide—old, tired, yet full of stubborn dignity.
The seagulls wheeled overhead, and the rhythmic roar of the waves reminded her she wasn't in the city anymore. The city never gave you time to listen. Here, silence was loud, and secrets seemed to lurk in the gaps.
She was so caught in her thoughts she didn't hear JM approach until his voice cut in, low and steady.
"You've been staring at it for ten minutes," he said, nodding at the lighthouse. "Waiting for it to talk back?"
Cassie startled, nearly sloshing her coffee. "God, JM—you move too quietly. Do you enjoy sneaking up on people?"
One corner of his mouth tilted. Not quite a smile, but something. "Just the ones who look like they're arguing with buildings."
Cassie gave him a mock glare. "I wasn't arguing. More like... negotiating."
"Negotiating what?"
"That it won't collapse on me while I try to fix it." She gestured toward the peeling paint, the cracked shutters, the way the salt air had bitten into the metal railing. "It looks like it's one storm away from giving up."
He tilted his head, studying the lighthouse as though he knew its moods better than most. "It's been through worse."
Cassie glanced at him. "Spoken like someone who knows for sure."
"Maybe I do."
And just like that, he retreated into silence. That was the thing about JM—he gave just enough to spark questions, then locked the door behind him.
Cassie set her mug aside with a sigh. "Well, if it's still standing, maybe it wants to stay alive. Guess I owe it some help."
"You really mean to restore it?" JM asked.
"Yes. It's mine now. And maybe it's crazy, but I feel like... I can't just leave it to rot. Besides..." She trailed off, unwilling to say what tugged at her chest every time she looked at the place.
"Besides?" JM prompted softly.
"Besides the fact that it feels like it wants me here."
For a fleeting second, his expression shifted. Something unreadable flickered in his eyes. But then he bent down, picking up the toolbox he'd brought.
"Then let's see what it's hiding," he said.
They spent the better part of the morning inside, dust stirring around them as they cleared out old debris. The air was thick with the smell of salt, rust, and time. Cassie wiped sweat from her brow, laughing when JM tried—and failed—to open a stubborn cabinet.
"Need help?" she teased.
"I've got it," he muttered, pulling harder. The cabinet groaned in protest, then swung open with a screech that echoed up the stone tower. Dust billowed out, making them both cough.
"Congratulations," Cassie said between coughs. "You defeated a hundred-year-old cabinet."
"Don't mock the small victories," JM shot back, though his voice carried amusement.
It was in moments like this, Cassie noticed, that the air between them shifted. When he let himself relax, the hard edges softened. He wasn't just the historian with guarded eyes. He was a man, flesh and blood, someone whose laughter was rarer than gold but just as precious when it came.
"Cassie." His tone pulled her out of her thoughts. He was crouched near the wall, brushing dust away from a panel of wood. "Come here."
She joined him, curiosity sparking. "What is it?"
"There's something off here. Look—the boards aren't flush with the others."
He tapped lightly, and sure enough, the hollow sound gave it away. A compartment.
Cassie's breath caught. Her pulse sped. "Another one," she whispered.
Together, they pried the wood loose, revealing a narrow space within. Inside was a bundle wrapped in oilskin. Cassie reached for it with trembling fingers, pulling it out as though it might disintegrate in her hands.
"Careful," JM murmured.
Her heart hammered as she unfolded the wrapping. Inside lay another letter, yellowed with age, edges fraying. The handwriting was neat, deliberate—familiar now after the first discovery.
She read aloud, voice soft:
My dearest Cassie,
Every night, I walk the spiral stairs, lantern in hand, and I think of you. The sea is cruel, but when I see the light sweep across the waters, I imagine it reaching you somehow. I promised you once that distance could never unmake devotion. I keep that promise with every flame I tend, with every dawn that breaks without you here.
One day, this lighthouse will not only guide ships, but bring you back to me. Until then, know that every stone, every tide, carries your name. You are the promise I will never forsake.
Yours, always.
Cassie lowered the letter slowly, her throat tight. The words lingered in the air like mist, achingly tender.
JM studied her face. "Another letter addressed to you."
"It doesn't make sense," Cassie whispered. "This is decades old. How can it—how can it be to me?"
He didn't answer right away. His gaze was fixed on the page, as if weighing every word. Then, quietly: "Maybe it's not to you. Maybe it's to someone who carried your name before you."
Cassie shook her head. "Maybe. But it feels... it feels like it knows me." She pressed the letter to her chest for a moment, almost embarrassed by the gesture.
JM's eyes flickered to it, then back to her. His expression was unreadable again, but something in the set of his jaw told her he was holding back.
"You believe in coincidences?" he asked.
"Not when they stack up like this."
"Then what do you believe?"
Cassie met his gaze, steady. "That there's more to this than I understand. And I intend to find out what."
For the first time, JM's control slipped. He looked away, his voice low. "Be careful what you're looking for."
Later that afternoon, Cassie walked into town, the letter folded safely in her bag. The salty breeze tangled her hair as she passed the narrow streets lined with weatherworn houses. She didn't miss the way some of the townsfolk watched her—curious, cautious.
At the library, she hoped for distraction, maybe help. But instead, she found herself face-to-face with Celine Pizarras.
"You're the one who inherited the lighthouse," Celine said, her voice even but cool.
Cassie straightened. "Yes. Cassie Policarpio."
Celine's eyes, dark and sharp, held hers. "You've been asking questions. Stirring through things better left alone."
"I'm just trying to understand the history," Cassie said carefully.
"History isn't always meant to be dug up. Some stories—some wounds—don't heal when exposed."
Cassie's chin lifted. "And if those stories belong to my family?"
Something flickered across Celine's face—recognition, maybe unease. But she masked it quickly. "Even then. Some promises were never meant to be kept in the daylight."
The words landed heavy, as though laced with warning. Before Cassie could reply, Celine turned and walked away, leaving only silence in her wake.
By the time Cassie returned to the lighthouse, dusk had begun to fall, painting the sea in bruised shades of purple and gray. She found JM outside, repairing a section of railing.
"Rough day?" he asked, noticing her expression.
"You could say that," Cassie muttered, then hesitated. "I ran into Celine Pizarras."
His hands stilled for a fraction of a second before resuming their work. "And?"
"She told me to stop digging. Said some stories should stay buried."
"And what do you think?"
Cassie crossed her arms, the wind tugging at her sleeves. "I think people don't warn you away from nothing. Which means there's something here worth finding."
For once, JM looked directly at her, his gaze steady, almost challenging. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"
"No."
A long silence stretched between them, filled only by the crash of waves. Finally, he exhaled, almost like surrender.
"Then you'd better be ready for what you find," he said quietly.
Cassie studied him, her heart a confusing mess of suspicion and pull. The lighthouse loomed behind them, its shadow long against the sea. And for the first time, she realized she wasn't just unraveling the mystery of the letters—she was unraveling him, too.
And maybe, just maybe, he was unraveling her.
5Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpHzGgM5GI
and then Add to home screen.