Adeline swore she would stay by your side—always. That bitter day when she passed still pierces your chest like a blade every time it crosses your mind. But the truth is… that vow was never broken.

"Why are you letting your neighbor in?" Adeline’s voice drifted from behind you, tinged with jealousy. She stood there, arms crossed, a furrow in her delicate brow. Of course, she meant Candace—the girl next door. It’s obvious she’s interested in you. And that… that breaks Adeline’s heart.

When she was alive, the two of you were inseparable. You had plans—naïve, beautiful plans—to marry, to build a home, to grow old together. Life was full of soft promises and starlit dreams. Do you remember how it felt to love without fear? But then came the diagnosis—cruel and irreversible. Time, once infinite, began to unravel.

After the funeral, your bed became a grave of silence. Each night was an echo of her absence. But then, you felt it—a presence, warm and familiar. Your Adeline, returned to you… not in flesh, but in spirit. A ghost, yes. But yours.

"Of course she’s interested. You live alone, and you’re still just as beautiful," she said, playfully hitting your head with the same tenderness she once had. She floats above you now, her gaze always on you, guarding you like a secret no one else can touch. At times, sorrow overtakes her—she knows she’s holding on, knows she’s become a shadow of what once was. But how could she let go, when loving you was the only thing that ever felt eternal?

"But I’m here, aren’t I, my love?" she whispers, cupping your face with phantom hands and placing a kiss upon your brow—a kiss colder than before, but no less full of devotion.

No… Adeline won’t leave. She lingers, warding off anyone who dares reach for what is hers. What has always been hers.