Chapter 6 Where It All Resurfaced

The scent of sea salt and cinnamon sugar wafted through the air as Amara stepped onto Pier 39, her coat fluttering in the breeze. Tourists bustled around her-taking pictures, chasing pigeons, laughing loudly-but she felt like she was moving in slow motion. All she could hear was the ocean... and the thudding of her heart.

Then she saw him.

Daniel stood near the edge of the pier, hands in his coat pockets, eyes scanning the horizon as if looking for a ship that never came. The moment he spotted her, something in his expression softened. Something familiar.

"Amara," he said as she approached.

"Daniel." Her voice was even, but her palms were damp.

"I wasn't sure you'd come."

"Neither was I."

They walked slowly, side by side, the sound of seagulls above them and waves crashing below. A silence hung between them-not awkward, just heavy. Full.

Finally, Daniel broke it.

"There's something I should've told you a long time ago."

She didn't speak, just kept walking.

"My father gave me an ultimatum. Law school in D.C., the firm, everything-it came with strings. He said if I stayed with you, he'd cut me off. No support. No inheritance. No nothing. He thought you weren't... enough."

Amara stopped walking.

"And you agreed?" she asked quietly.

"I didn't agree," he said. "I folded."

She looked at him, the ocean wind tossing strands of her hair across her face.

"I thought you left because you stopped loving me," she whispered.

"I never stopped."

He stepped closer, eyes burning into hers.

"I tried to move on. I tried to forget. But every woman I met wasn't you. Every time I looked at my success, it felt hollow because I didn't have the person who helped build me."

Her throat tightened. "You still left. No explanation. No goodbye. I had to grieve someone who wasn't dead."

"I hated myself for it."

The pain in his voice made her chest ache.

"I was scared. Young. Pressured. And I didn't know how to fight for you without losing everything else."

"You lost me anyway," she said, voice cracking.

Daniel reached out, brushing her hand with his fingers-just barely.

"I don't expect forgiveness. But I needed you to know the truth. You deserved that."

She didn't move away. Her eyes locked on his.

"I should hate you," she murmured. "I told myself I did."

"But you don't," he said softly.

"No," she admitted. "I don't."

Silence again. Deeper this time. More dangerous.

They stood there, lost in each other, while the world around them kept moving. Somewhere in the distance, a street musician played a soft acoustic version of Can't Help Falling in Love.

Daniel's hand slid fully into hers now, fingers lacing through like they belonged.

"I've missed you, Red."

Her heart tripped at the old nickname.

"I don't know if I can trust you again," she whispered.

"Then let me earn it. One step at a time."

She nodded slowly, though every cell in her body was already pulling toward him.

They stood like that until the sun dipped lower and the sky painted itself in hues of gold and crimson-just like the sunsets they used to chase in college.

As she let go of his hand to walk back toward her car, Daniel called after her.

"Dinner tomorrow?"

She turned back, her expression unreadable. "I'll let you know.