"Who are you, and what have you done with my friend?"
"Your friend... simply grew up and found the person she wants to spend her life with," Ethea responded calmly, unaffected by Zura's dramatic reaction. "Is that so hard to believe?"
Zura nodded vigorously. "Yes! You're like a whole different person! Even when you two came to the restaurant the other day, you weren't like this. What changed between then and now?"
Ethea fell silent for a moment, considering the question. Then it hit her.
'...Right. That was before we confessed.'
Until then, there had always been a barrier she couldn't cross, a fear that kept her from showing him how she truly felt. But now that everything was out in the open, there was no longer any reason to hold back.
Perhaps she had always wanted to show him how much she loved him, but the moment had never felt right. Now that it finally was, she found herself saying and doing things she never imagined she would, bold enough to surprise even herself.
