Sudah beberapa hari, La Flora agak sibuk dan pelbagai tempahan untuk event rasmi dan juga tidak rasmi. Bau lily putih dan mawar merah jambu melingkari ruang udara, mencipta aroma yang mendamaikan. Beberapa staf kelihatan berpeluh, menyusun pasu bunga dan mengemaskan gubahan untuk dihantar ke hotel lima bintang esok hari sempena majlis persandingan anak seorang VIP. Nabila berjalan ke sana ke mari. Dia memperkemaskan gubahan, membetulkan posisi bunga, dan menyemak semula tempahan yang masuk melalui atas talian .

Matanya sudah kuyu, tubuhnya lesu, tetapi dia tetap bertahan. Kedai bunga ini bukan sekadar mata pencarian, tetapi juga terapi jiwanya sejak dunia yang dibinanya musnah setahun lalu.

“Kak Nab, bunga lily tu nak letak glitter atau biasa saja?” soal seorang pekerja.

“Biasa saja, kita nak nampak elegan tapi mengekalkan keaslian.” tegas Nabila

Nabila tersenyum kecil, lalu kembali ke meja kaunter untuk mencicip teh yang telah lama suam. Sebelum sempat Nabila melepaskan lelah, pintu La Flora berbunyi. Loceng kayu berdenting perlahan, menandakan seseorang masuk.

Nabila tidak menoleh. Mungkin pelanggan yang datang atau penghantar bunga tambahan.

Namun langkah itu, perlahan, berat, penuh ragu dan membuatkan hatinya tiba-tiba dicengkam resah.

“Nabila…”

Suara itu seolah datang dari masa lalu. Perlahan Nabila berpaling.

Adam.

Lelaki yang pernah menjadi suaminya. Lelaki yang melepaskannya saat dia hilang arah dan hidupnya seakan tamat. Kini berdiri di depan matanya dengan nyata.

Nabila terkedu. Nafasnya tersekat. “Adam…?”

Adam mengangguk perlahan. Matanya berkaca.

“It’s me…”

Nabila berdiri, seolah tidak percaya. “No. You can’t be here.”

“I had to come.”

Nabila menggeleng. “No, Adam. This is not fair.”

Adam menahan langkahnya. “Please… let me explain.”

“Explain what? "

“I was broken, Nabila. The doctors said I would never walk again. That I’d never be a man again… in every sense of the word.”

Matanya berkaca. Nafasnya bergetar. “I couldn’t bear the thought of trapping you in a life with someone who could never love you like a husband should.”

Nabila terdiam. Dadanya berombak.

“You should’ve let me decide,” katanya dalam nada perlahan. “You didn’t give me that right.”

Adam menunduk. “I know. I thought I was doing the noble thing. Setting you free. I told myself it was love.”

“Love doesn’t abandon,” Nabila bersuara tegas. “Love stays. Love fights.”

“I was ashamed,” sambung Adam. “I wanted to disappear. I told myself, if I vanish, you’d move on. But deep inside… I thought maybe you’d still wait.”

Nabila menoleh, air matanya bergenang. “I did wait, Adam. I waited. I cried. I prayed. But days turned into weeks, and weeks into months… and you never came.”

Adam mendekat sedikit. “Until now.”

“I moved on, Adam,” katanya, hampir berbisik. “You told me to forget you. And I tried. Then someone came… someone who never left. Someone who stayed beside me when I was nothing but ruins.”

Adam terdiam. “Dr Emir…”

Nabila mengangguk.

“He was there when I fainted at La Flora the day your letter arrived. He was the one who picked up the pieces. Not because he wanted anything in return… but because he cared.”

Adam menutup mata. Terluka. Tapi dia tahu, ini harga yang perlu dibayar.

“I didn’t expect to recover,” katanya perlahan. “But miracles happen. One day, I felt my fingers twitch… then my legs. My doctors were baffled. My testosterone level… returned. Slowly, everything that was lost came back. I became a man again.”

Dia mendekat. “And all I wanted… was to return to you.”

“Tapi bukan semudah itu, Adam…” ujar Nabila. “I’ve rebuilt my life. I learnt how to smile again. I learnt how to survive. And in that journey… someone patiently waited. Even without asking for anything.”

Adam menarik nafas panjang. “Do you love him?”

Nabila memejam mata. “I don’t know. But I know this… I don’t want to be broken again. I’m tired of waiting for promises that may never come.”

Adam menggenggam jemarinya sendiri, menahan sebak. “I’m not asking for much. Just one more chance to prove… I can love you the way you deserve.”

Nabila menggeleng, matanya basah. “You loved me once. Then you left. He never even said the word… but he never walked away.”

Adam terdiam. Hening menjerat mereka berdua. Di luar, mentari mulai tenggelam, mewarnai langit La Flora dengan cahaya merah saga.

“I thought you’d still be waiting,” bisik Adam.

“Maybe I was,” balas Nabila, “but you waited too long.”

Adam menunduk, hampa. Dia mengerti kini bahawa cinta tidak boleh dipaksa. Walaupun dulu dia melepaskan Nabila bukan dengan rela tapi kerana dia tidak mahu mementingkan dirinya sendiri Dia tidak mahu Nabila menderita. Tapi kini, saat dia pulih sepenuhnya dan Adam masih yakin dan percaya Nabila masih sendiri dan akan mempertahankan cinta mereka.

“Nabila…” katanya perlahan. “If one day… you feel differently, I’ll still be somewhere—waiting. Loving you from afar.”

Adam memilih untuk pergi setelah hatinya hancur berkeping-keping. Sakitnya sebuah penolakan walaupun Nabila tidak bersalah dalam hal ini.

Sebelum pergi, “Thank you… for once loving me more than I deserved.”kata Adam dengan nada terharu.

Dan pintu pun tertutup.

Nabila berdiri di tengah gubahan bunga yang mekar. Tangannya menggenggam kelopak lily yang sedang berkembang.

Nabila tidak mampu untuk mengucapkan apa-apa kerana lukanya yang berparut kini tergores kembali.

Adam hilang arah tuju. Namun sebelum beralah, satu nama bermain di benak fikirnya. Adam tidak akan menyerah begitu saja.

“Before I let go…
“If she has truly moved on, I’ll bow to Allah’s will. But not without one last plea.”
“Oh Allah, You are the Turner of hearts… If it is written for us, guide her heart back to mine. If not, grant me the strength to let her go with grace.”
“Let this be my final attempt, not to reclaim the past, but to honour the love I still carry.”