Chapter 5 The park

The park was quieter now, the last golden slivers of sunlight fading behind the trees.

Amelia had walked back toward the street, her mind still buzzing with thoughts of Zeus, the quiet yet captivating man she'd just spent the afternoon with.

There had been something undeniably magnetic about him-the way he spoke, the way he looked at her-but now, as the sun set and she made her way toward her car, she couldn't help but wonder: what was his story?

Her life had always been clean, neat, predictable. She had a loving family, good friends, and opportunities handed to her on a silver platter. Zeus, on the other hand, seemed like a person who was still piecing his life together.

There was a certain sadness in his eyes that hadn't escaped her notice. A quiet, almost invisible weight that hung around him like a shadow. He didn't belong to the world of perfect weekends and carefree mornings. He was different. And yet, there was something so real about him.

Amelia didn't know why she was thinking about it so much.

But there was an unspoken bond that formed in those quiet moments, and she couldn't shake the curiosity of wanting to know more.

Meanwhile, across town, Zeus was sitting alone in his small apartment.

The sounds of the city-distant car horns, the muffled chatter from passing pedestrians-filtered through the thin walls, but it was all background noise to him.

He sat on the couch, his thoughts heavy, his fingers tapping absentmindedly against the side of his coffee mug.

The apartment was a far cry from the polished spaces Amelia occupied.

The walls were scuffed, the furniture mismatched, worn from years of use.

A single lamp in the corner provided weak light, and the window was cracked slightly open, allowing the cold night air to slip inside.

Zeus didn't mind the imperfections. He never had. It was what he had grown up with.

The mess, the disrepair-it was normal to him.

His mother had been absent for most of his childhood, both physically and emotionally.

And his father-well, his father was someone who had spent more time numbing his pain with whiskey than being present in their lives.

Zeus was used to being alone, to having to fend for himself, and to never really being wanted or loved in the way Amelia had been. His family was fractured, an unfinished puzzle with missing pieces.

Growing up, he never had the luxury of comfort or certainty. Love, in his experience, was something that came with conditions-or worse, something that wasn't given at all.

And yet, as he sat there in his worn-out apartment, his thoughts drifted back to Amelia.

Her presence in the park had been a stark contrast to everything he knew.

She had an ease about her, a warmth, an openness that he couldn't quite understand.

They were worlds apart, in so many ways. She was everything he hadn't been-loved, protected, cherished-and in many ways, she seemed completely untouchable.

How could someone like her, with all the privileges and comforts that came with her life, possibly understand someone like him?

Zeus sighed and set his mug down on the table, staring at his reflection in the dark window.

The lines in his face had deepened over the years, evidence of a life filled with struggle, loneliness, and sometimes, anger. His past wasn't something he liked to talk about-not with anyone, and certainly not with Amelia.