Part 8 of The Space Between Us: The Fear of Being Chosen | Desire Lines
DL - Livia had always been good at giving.
Support.
Patience.
Understanding.
But being chosen, that was harder.
Because when someone chooses you, it means they see you fully. Not just your strengths, but your cracks, your quiet insecurities, the parts of you you’ve spent years hiding.
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Noah had started packing.
Not to leave her.
But to move closer into her space, into her routines, into her life.
And it terrified her.
He noticed.
Of course he did.
“Is this too fast?” he asked one night, holding a box of books by the doorway.
Livia bit her lip. “No. But it’s… big. It’s real. And part of me still doesn’t believe I deserve it.”
Noah set the box down. Walked over.
Took her hand without needing to say much.
“Livia,” he said, “you don’t have to earn love. It’s not a trophy. It’s a presence. And I’m not here to test you. I’m here to choose you every day, gently, without conditions.”
She tried to hold back tears. She almost managed.
That night, she found an old voice note she had recorded during their time apart. She had never sent it. But now, she played it back to herself.
“I think I’ve spent so long being strong for everyone else, I forgot how to let someone hold me.”
Her chest tightened.
She closed the app. Walked into the kitchen where Noah was making tea.
Without a word, she walked into his arms. Not dramatically. Just… fully.
And for the first time, she didn’t brace herself.
She let herself be held.
The next morning, as the sun spilled softly into the room, Noah whispered:
“You don’t have to fear being chosen anymore. You already are.”
To be continued...
Next Chapter: “The Rain That Didn’t Fall”