Chapter 3 Second Chances Wear Disguises

Three days.

It had been three days since Daniel Reyes walked into Amara's gallery and turned her world upside down.

She hadn't replied to his message. She hadn't told anyone-not Ethan, not her assistant Mara, not even her best friend Lyla, who would've grilled her within seconds. Instead, Amara went through the motions: curated meetings, client calls, and quiet dinners with Ethan where silence said more than conversation.

But that morning, she stood outside Luna Café, a small corner coffee shop nestled near the Embarcadero, holding her phone and debating whether to walk inside.

He was in there. She had told him she didn't want to talk. And yet, here she was.

A part of her hated herself for it.

Another part of her felt more alive than she had in years.

With a long breath, she stepped through the glass doors, and the soft jingle of the bell overhead made him look up.

He was sitting near the window, dark coat draped over the back of his chair, black coffee in hand, eyes tired but alert. He stood when he saw her.

"I wasn't sure you'd come," he said, voice low.

"I wasn't sure either," Amara replied, slowly removing her scarf.

They sat. The silence between them wasn't tense-it was loud. Thick with everything unsaid.

"So," Daniel began after a moment. "How have you really been, Amara?"

"You don't get to ask that. Not after ten years of silence."

"I deserve that."

She tilted her head. "Why now, Daniel? Why come back?"

He hesitated, fingers tightening around his mug. "Because I kept trying to move on. I built a life. A good one. But it always felt... hollow."

She looked away, jaw tight. "That's funny. That's exactly how mine feels sometimes."

Daniel leaned forward, elbows on the table. "I didn't come to ruin your life. I came because I never forgave myself. And because when I saw your name in that article, I realized I still needed closure. Or... maybe I hoped we weren't really over."

"We were over the moment you left without saying goodbye."

"I thought I was doing the right thing. Law school was demanding. My dad had just been diagnosed. I couldn't ask you to wait."

"You didn't ask. You vanished."

Their eyes locked. And just like that-there it was again. The fire. The ache. The storm that had once swept them away.

Amara stood up suddenly, heart pounding. "I shouldn't have come."

Daniel rose too, gently catching her wrist. "Please, Amara... I just want to know if there's still anything left."

She looked at his hand on her arm. At the honesty in his eyes. At the pain she thought she'd forgotten.

Then she pulled away.

"I'm engaged," she said flatly. "This isn't fair-to him, to me, or to whatever this is."

"I don't care if it's fair," Daniel replied quietly. "I just care if it's real."

Meanwhile - Across Town

In his sleek office, Ethan Cross was reviewing a portfolio when his phone buzzed. A message from his private investigator.

"The man you asked about-Daniel Reyes-has met with Amara twice. Once at her gallery. Today at Luna Café."

Ethan's jaw tightened.

He leaned back in his chair, watching the cityscape outside his window.

"Looks like the past finally showed up," he muttered to himself.

Then he hit call.

"Keep watching them. And find out everything you can about this Daniel Reyes."