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The cold gets worse over the next week, and so does the tension between Maya and Julian. Nothing's blown up between them since their fight — it's more like a quiet chill that's settled in. Julian still stops by sometimes because he's the loyal, routine-driven type who doesn't just disappear, but the easy, comfortable vibe they used to have is gone. They're both being careful and a little distant, avoiding anything to do with money or the future.
Then Maya gets a letter from a heritage trust in Scotland. It's a huge opportunity — they want her to be the lead conservator on a massive, high-budget restoration of an old estate library near Edinburgh. It comes with a real salary, free housing on-site, and a bonus at the end that would completely wipe out her rent problems and secure her shop for years. It's basically the exact financial rescue she's been desperately needing.
The catch: it's a three-month residency, starting in just a few weeks, and it means moving to Scotland — four hundred miles away — for the whole winter.
Instead of waiting for Julian to visit like usual, Maya goes straight to the archive to catch him as he's leaving work. She hands him the letter without saying much. As he reads it under a streetlamp, his expression changes — he doesn't smile, doesn't congratulate her. He just quietly repeats back the key facts: three months, starting in three weeks.
Maya tries to sell him on the practical logic of it — the money covers everything, fixes her financial stress, means she doesn't have to take soul-crushing cheap jobs anymore. She clearly expects him to be thrilled for her.
But Julian's reaction is more complicated. He points out that yes, it solves her rent problem — but it also means she's leaving for a quarter of a year without really pausing to think about what that means for the two of them. Maya gets defensive, reminding him how stressed and sleepless she's been trying to keep her business alive, and asks why he isn't happy for her.
Julian says he is happy about the professional opportunity — but he's honest about what's actually scaring him: that her instinct, the moment things get hard, is to pack up and put distance between herself and the problem. Not just the rent problem — possibly them, too.
Maya pushes back hard, insisting this has nothing to do with him, that it's about saving her business. But Julian asks a quietly devastating question: is that really all it is? Or is it just easier for her to deal with things — including their relationship — when they're far away and out of reach?
He doesn't wait around for an answer. He folds the letter carefully, hands it back to her, and walks off into the cold toward the bus station, leaving Maya standing alone under the streetlight holding the letter, visibly shaken.
The love story just got more interesting, don't miss the next chapter if you want to know more about Maya and Julian love story.
