The Past Revealed

Rose barely slept that night.

Every time she closed her eyes, the scene from dinner replayed in her mind. Sophia’s confident smile, Jason’s unreadable expression, and the strange tension that had filled the table kept returning again and again.

She turned over on the bed and sighed quietly.

This trip was becoming far more complicated than she had expected.

When Jason first told her she would be traveling with him to Australia, she had only been annoyed. She thought the worst part of the trip would simply be spending several days with her arrogant boss.

But now things were different.

Now there was Sophia.

And the more Rose thought about it, the more uncomfortable she felt.

The memory of the kiss Jason had given her outside her hotel room suddenly flashed across her mind.

Her heart started beating faster.

Rose quickly pushed the thought away and stared at the ceiling.

“This is ridiculous,” she muttered softly to herself.

Jason was her boss. That was all.

Nothing about this trip was supposed to be personal.

She turned to her side and pulled the blanket closer, trying to force herself to sleep. Eventually exhaustion began to take over.

Just as her eyes were finally starting to close, a knock sounded on the door.

Knock. Knock.

Rose groaned quietly.

For a moment she stayed still, hoping whoever it was would go away. But when the knock came again, she slowly forced herself out of bed.

She walked toward the door, rubbing her eyes slightly.

For some reason, she already had a feeling she knew who it was.

When she opened the door, Jason was standing in the hallway.

He looked perfectly calm and composed, as if he had slept peacefully all night.

“Good morning,” he said.

Rose leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms.

“Is there a reason you’re knocking on my door this early?” she asked.

Jason looked at her with his usual calm expression.

“It’s time for breakfast,” he replied.

Rose stared at him for a moment.

“That’s it?” she asked.

Jason nodded.

Rose sighed quietly.

“Fine. Give me a few minutes.”

She closed the door and quickly got ready. After taking a quick shower, she changed into a simple but neat outfit and tied her hair back.

She looked at herself in the mirror.

She looked tired.

But at least she looked presentable.

When she stepped back into the hallway, Jason was still there waiting.

They began walking toward the elevator together.

The silence between them felt heavy.

Neither of them mentioned what had happened the night before.

When the elevator doors opened, they stepped inside. Rose kept her eyes fixed on the numbers above the door as the elevator slowly descended.

She could feel Jason standing beside her, but she avoided looking at him.

Jason glanced at her briefly but said nothing.

Soon the elevator doors opened again and they walked toward the hotel restaurant.

The restaurant was bright and peaceful in the morning. Soft music played quietly while a few guests sat at different tables enjoying their breakfast.

Rose and Jason found a table near the window and sat down.

A waiter soon arrived and handed them the menu.

Rose barely looked at it.

Her mind was still distracted by everything that had happened the night before.

When their food finally arrived, the silence between them continued.

The clinking of plates and quiet chatter from other tables filled the air.

Finally, Jason spoke.

“Why are you avoiding me?” he asked calmly.

Rose looked up at him.

“What are we supposed to talk about?” she replied. “Other than the reason we’re here. I’d rather we just focus on work.”

Jason leaned back slightly in his chair.

“We could talk about other things,” he said.

Rose immediately looked away.

“I just want to be left alone this morning,” she said quietly. “Let’s just eat.”

Jason didn’t argue.

He simply nodded and continued eating.

For a few minutes neither of them spoke again.

Then suddenly a familiar voice appeared beside them.

“Good morning.”

Rose looked up.

Her heart sank immediately.

Sophia.

She stood beside their table with a bright smile, looking confident and elegant as always.

Jason looked slightly surprised.

“Good morning,” he said politely.

Sophia smiled warmly.

“I was actually hoping I would run into you here,” she said.

Rose forced a polite smile, though she felt uncomfortable.

Sophia pulled out a chair and sat down without waiting to be invited.

“I had a feeling you would be having breakfast around this time,” she continued.

Jason nodded slightly but didn’t say much.

Rose quietly watched the conversation, trying to remain calm.

But something about Sophia’s presence made her uneasy.

The three of them talked for a few minutes about random things — the meeting from the previous day, the city, and their plans for the day.

But slowly, the conversation began to shift.

Sophia suddenly looked at Rose.

“Jason never told you about us, did he?” she asked.

Rose frowned slightly.

“What do you mean?” she asked carefully.

Sophia smiled.

“I thought so.”

Rose glanced at Jason.

He was quiet.

Too quiet.

Then Sophia spoke again.

“We were engaged.”

The words hung heavily in the air.

Rose felt her heart skip a beat.

For a moment she wondered if she had heard wrong.

Engaged?

Her mind struggled to process the information.

She looked at Jason, waiting for him to say something.

But he remained silent.

Sophia leaned back comfortably in her chair.

“It was a long time ago,” she said casually. “But we were very serious back then.”

Rose felt her stomach tighten.

The man sitting across from her — the man who had kissed her — had once been engaged to the woman sitting beside them.

Everything suddenly felt strange.

She lowered her gaze to her plate.

“Oh… I see,” she said slowly.

Sophia continued smiling.

“But things didn’t work out.”

Jason finally spoke.

“That was a long time ago, Sophia.”

Sophia shrugged lightly.

“True,” she said. “But some memories are hard to forget.”

She glanced briefly at Jason before looking back at Rose.

“After all,” she added with a small smile, “Jason and I spent a long time together. We still understand each other very well.”

Rose felt the tension in the air immediately.

The words sounded simple, but something about the way Sophia said them made her uncomfortable.

It felt like a quiet reminder that Sophia had known Jason far longer.

Jason’s expression hardened slightly.

But he didn’t say anything.

Rose suddenly felt like she didn’t belong in the conversation.

She pushed her food around on the plate, no longer hungry.

Her mind kept repeating the same thought.

Jason and Sophia were once engaged.

The realization made her chest feel tight.

This trip was supposed to be about work.

But now it felt like she had somehow stepped into a complicated situation she didn’t fully understand.

For the first time since arriving in Australia, Rose wondered if coming on this trip had been a mistake.