Chapter 1 The Return

"David... why are you here?"

I froze mid-step, my coffee spilling slightly on the pristine white counter of my small apartment. His voice, calm yet laced with the arrogance I remembered all too well, made my heart thud painfully in my chest.

It had been five years since David left. Five years of heartbreak, rejection, and pretending I'd moved on. And now, here he was, standing in my doorway, looking exactly the same-maybe even better. The same sharp jawline, the same piercing eyes that used to see right through me, and that infuriatingly confident smile.

"You're still mad at me," he said, almost accusingly, as if I owed him an explanation.

"Mad? No, I'm... shocked," I admitted, though my voice trembled. "And maybe a little terrified that you actually showed up at my door without warning."

He stepped closer, unbothered by my attempt to back away. "I had to see you, Emma. There's... something I need to tell you."

My stomach dropped. Something he needs to tell me? Could this be the apology I've been waiting for-or worse, another reason to regret ever loving him?

"You left me," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "After everything... you just walked away."

David flinched slightly. "I know. And I was wrong. I know that now. But things were complicated... things I couldn't explain back then."

I laughed bitterly. "Complicated? That's your excuse for leaving me crying in the middle of the street while you chased your so-called 'dream'?"

He winced, clearly not expecting my anger. "Emma, I never stopped thinking about you-not for a single day. I had to make choices back then... choices I regretted immediately. But I didn't know how to fix it."

I felt my chest tighten. Every memory-the hurt, the sleepless nights, the tears-came rushing back.

"Why now?" I asked, trying to steady my voice. "Why after five years of silence?"

David looked down for a moment, then back at me with a gaze that made my knees almost buckle. "Because I can't leave things like this anymore. I came back to make things right. To... try again."

I swallowed hard. "Try again? You mean... pick up where we left off?"

He nodded slowly. "If you'll let me."

I wanted to scream at him, to tell him how impossible this was. And yet, part of me-the part I had buried deep beneath layers of pride and resentment-wanted to throw myself into his arms and never let go.

"You don't just walk back into someone's life after five years and expect things to be normal," I said finally, my voice steadier than I felt.

"I'm not asking for normal," he said softly. "I'm asking for a chance. One chance to prove I haven't forgotten you... that I never really did."

The words hung in the air. And for a moment, I almost believed him. Almost.

I stepped back, keeping my hands pressed against the counter as if it could hold me steady. "You have no idea what I went through," I whispered. "Do you? Five years of pretending I didn't still love you, of forcing myself to live without you, and now you just show up, like nothing happened?"

David took a slow step forward. "I know exactly what you went through," he said, his voice low but firm. "And I hated myself every single day for causing it. I thought leaving was the only way to protect you... and me. I was wrong, Emma. So wrong."

The apartment felt too small, the air too thick. Memories of our past flooded me-the stolen kisses behind the school, the laughter in coffee shops, the way he used to hold me like the world could fall apart and nothing would matter as long as we were together. And then the heartbreak. The silence. The betrayal.

"You think saying that now fixes everything?" I asked, my voice cracking.

He shook his head, a shadow of pain crossing his face. "I don't expect it to. I just... can't leave without trying. You deserve the truth, Emma. You deserve to know why I left."

I hesitated, my body instinctively shrinking from him, yet my heart betrayed me with a flutter that refused to be silenced. "And what if I don't want to hear it?" I challenged, though curiosity had already begun to gnaw at me.

David's hand hovered in the air for a moment, then rested gently near mine-so close, yet not touching. "Then I'll wait. But I won't leave again without telling you everything."

I wanted to scream at him to leave, to slam the door and lock it, to protect my fragile heart. But the truth was... part of me wanted him here. Wanted to hear him out. Wanted to know if the boy who left me was still the man I once loved-or if he had become someone else entirely.

The silence stretched between us, heavy and electric. Outside, the city moved on, oblivious to the storm brewing in my small apartment.

Finally, David broke the quiet. "Emma... I know I don't deserve this. I know I walked away. But I've changed. And I'm here now. Will you at least let me try?"

My fingers tightened around the edge of the counter. My mind screamed no, yet my heart... my heart whispered maybe.

And then, just as I was about to respond, the phone on the counter buzzed. A message from someone I hadn't heard from in years. My eyes scanned the screen-and my stomach sank.

It was a warning.

And it wasn't about David.