Love, Once Again

The moment Ava Sinclair stepped onto the cobblestone path leading to the grand New York city, she felt the past creeping up on her like a shadow she couldn't outrun.

She had promised herself she'd never come back here.

Yet, here she was-dressed in an elegant navy-blue gown, heels clicking against the pavement as the warm glow of wedding lights beckoned her forward. The air was thick with the scent of roses and champagne, laughter spilling from the ballroom ahead. Strings of fairy lights twinkled above like distant stars, and the sound of a live string quartet drifted out into the warm evening air.

Ava forced a smile as she stepped inside.

She could do this.

She was here for Emma, her childhood best friend, who had begged her to be part of her big day. Ava couldn't say no-not after everything Emma had done for her growing up. This was just another event, another night she'd survive before slipping back into the city, where the past couldn't touch her.

At least, that had been the plan.

Then she saw him.

Ethan Carter.

He was standing by the bar, looking effortless in a fitted black suit, dark hair slightly tousled, fingers wrapped around a glass of whiskey. His presence was a storm in a quiet sky-unshaken, commanding, impossible to ignore.

Ava's stomach twisted.

It had been five years since she had last seen him. Five years since she had packed her bags and left Maplewood without a backward glance. Seven years since she had shattered the heart of the only man she had ever truly loved.

She'd left for all the right reasons-or so she told herself. Her dreams were in the city, far from the sleepy town and the tangled emotions that Ethan brought with him. But standing there now, watching him sip his drink with calm detachment, she felt those reasons crumble beneath the weight of memory.

She swallowed hard and turned away, hoping-praying-he wouldn't notice her.

Too late.

Their eyes locked across the room, and for a split second, everything else faded-the music, the guests, even the steady rhythm of her own heartbeat.

Ethan's expression was unreadable, but his gaze held a weight that sent a shiver down her spine. There was no anger in his eyes. That would have been easier. Instead, there was calm... unsettling calm, like a man who had rebuilt himself from the ashes of heartbreak and no longer had anything left to burn.

She should look away. Walk in the opposite direction. Pretend he was just another face in the crowd.

Instead, she lifted her chin, forced her legs to move, and crossed the room.

"Ethan," she said, her voice betraying none of the chaos inside her.

He took a slow sip of his drink before responding. "Ava."

God, even his voice was the same. Low, steady, with just a hint of roughness, like he had something he wasn't saying.

"I didn't know you'd be here," she said, though it was a lie. Of course, he'd be here-Emma's fiancé was his childhood best friend. Ava had known the moment she saw the invite.

Ethan arched a brow. "Would it have changed anything?"

Ava hesitated. Yes. Maybe she wouldn't have come at all. Maybe she would've made some excuse about work or illness. Anything to avoid this confrontation.

But she gave him the answer he expected. "No."

He nodded, swirling the amber liquid in his glass. "Then I guess it doesn't matter."

A sharp ache settled in her chest. Seven years apart, and yet standing here, facing him, it felt like no time had passed at all.

Only everything had changed.

Ava looked down at her hands, folded neatly in front of her. They were steady, even as her heart raced. She wondered if he could hear it too-if somehow, the rhythm of her anxiety echoed through the space between them.

"I'm glad you came," Ethan said suddenly.

The words caught her off guard. She glanced up, searching his face for sarcasm, but found none.

"I wasn't sure you'd show," he added. "Emma thought you might run the moment you saw my name on the RSVP list."

Ava let out a dry laugh. "I almost did."

His lips twitched-just enough to suggest the ghost of a smile. "But you didn't."

"No. I didn't."

A beat of silence stretched between them, heavy with things unspoken.

"Are you... happy?" she asked before she could stop herself.

Ethan's gaze didn't waver. "I've learned to be."

It wasn't the answer she wanted. She didn't even know what answer she had hoped for. Maybe she wanted to hear he missed her. Maybe she wanted to hear he still thought about the night she left, how it broke him.

Maybe she wanted proof that she wasn't the only one still haunted.

A voice called her name from across the room, breaking the spell. Ava exhaled, stepping back, needing the space more than she realized.

"It was good seeing you again, Ethan."

His lips curved into something that wasn't quite a smile. "Was it?"

Before she could answer, he turned and walked away.

And just like that, the past wasn't the past anymore.

It was here. Breathing down her neck. Refusing to be ignored.

Ava remained rooted to the floor, staring at the space Ethan had just vacated. A part of her screamed to follow him, to say everything she hadn't said all those years ago. But another part-the one she had relied on for survival-whispered that silence was safer. Cleaner.

She turned back to the party. People danced beneath chandeliers, smiling, spinning, clinking glasses like nothing else in the world mattered. To them, it didn't. But Ava's world had just tilted slightly off its axis.

She needed air.

Slipping out the side door, she found herself on the terrace. The night was cooler now, the breeze brushing against her skin like a welcome touch. Stars blinked high above the estate gardens, and in the distance, soft music floated on the wind.

Ava wrapped her arms around herself.

Why had she really come back?

It hadn't just been Emma's invitation. Deep down, Ava knew she had wanted closure. She had wanted to see if the past still had power over her. Now she had her answer.

"Thought I might find you here."

The voice made her stiffen.

She turned slowly. Ethan stood in the doorway, his jacket now unbuttoned, his tie loosened. He looked slightly more human, slightly less like the distant memory she had spent years trying to forget.

"I needed some air," she said, trying to sound casual.

He stepped out beside her, hands tucked in his pockets. "You always did hate crowded rooms."

A small laugh escaped her. "Still remember that?"

"I remember everything."

Silence stretched again, this time more fragile, like glass between them.

"Why did you leave without saying goodbye?" His voice was soft but carried an edge she couldn't ignore.

She closed her eyes. "Because I was scared. Because I knew if I looked back, I wouldn't go."

Ethan studied her, then looked away toward the gardens. "You broke my heart, Ava."

"I broke mine too."

That admission hung between them, raw and unexpected.

"I thought about calling," she continued. "So many times. But I convinced myself you'd moved on. That you hated me."

"I did," he admitted. "For a while."

Ava nodded, the lump in her throat tightening.

"But hate fades. Eventually, you just feel... tired."

She looked up at him. "Do you still feel anything now?"

He met her gaze again, something flickering behind his eyes. "I don't know. But seeing you tonight-I remembered what it was like to feel everything."

The music inside swelled, muffled but beautiful. Ava's heart beat louder than the song.

Maybe she hadn't come here for closure.

Maybe this was the beginning of something she wasn't ready to name.

Not yet.

But perhaps, just maybe... soon.