In film you can have sad endings.
And in real life endings aren't always neat whether they're happy endings or whether they're sad endings.
True love stories never have endings.
Wherever my story takes me however dark and difficult the theme there is always some hope and redemption not because readers like happy endings but because I am an optimist at heart. I know the sun will rise in the morning that there is a light at the end of every tunnel.
Maybe I'm old-fashioned. But I remember the beauty and thrill of being moved by Broadway musicals - particularly the endings of shows.
I don't believe in happy endings but I do believe in happy travels because ultimately you die at a very young age or you live long enough to watch your friends die. It's a mean thing life.