Chapter 3 — The Name She Buried

Chapter 3 — The Name She Buried

Miyaka had always hated mornings after a bad night.

They made everything feel too ordinary.

The sun still rose. People still went to work. Cars still filled the roads, vendors still opened their stalls, and somewhere in the neighborhood, someone was always arguing loudly enough for half the street to hear. The world continued as if nothing had happened, even when something inside her had shifted so violently that she could barely recognize herself.

She woke before her alarm.

For a few seconds, she stared at the ceiling, trying to remember why her chest felt strangely heavy.

Then she remembered.

Moises.

She closed her eyes again.

“Seriously?”

The word came out as a tired whisper.

She turned onto her side and pulled the blanket over her head, as if hiding from the thought could make it disappear. It didn't. If anything, her mind seemed determined to punish her by replaying every memory it could find.

The mango tree.

The rain.

Three little fingers linked together.

A boy's quiet voice promising, No matter what.

Miyaka opened her eyes.

“It's been years.”

She sat up and rubbed her face.

There was no reason for her to still care.

That was what she had been telling herself for years.

Moises had left.

He hadn't written.

He hadn't returned.

He hadn't explained.

And eventually, Miyaka had stopped waiting.

At least, that was the story she had built for herself.

She climbed out of bed and walked toward the window. Morning sunlight slipped through the curtains, illuminating the room in pale gold. Her motorcycle helmet sat on the chair near the door, still carrying a thin layer of dust from the previous race.

Her eyes settled on it.

That was better.

Speed didn't ask questions.

Speed didn't leave promises unfinished.

Speed didn't look at her like it remembered a girl she had tried desperately to forget.

She grabbed the helmet.

Her phone buzzed on the bedside table.

She ignored it.

It buzzed again.

With an annoyed sigh, she picked it up.

Jason: You're awake, right?

Miyaka stared at the message.

She typed.

Miyaka: Unfortunately.

His reply came almost immediately.

Jason: Good. I need to talk to you.

She frowned.

Miyaka: That sounds suspicious.

Three dots appeared.

Then disappeared.

Then appeared again.

Finally:

Jason: Just meet me at the garage.

Miyaka's expression tightened.

Jason rarely sounded serious unless something was wrong.

She put the phone down and stared at it for another few seconds.

Then she grabbed her jacket.

---

The garage was already loud when Miyaka arrived.

The familiar smell of gasoline, rubber, and warm metal greeted her the moment she stepped inside. She had always liked it there. There was something comforting about machines being honest about what they were. If something was broken, you fixed it. If an engine was failing, you listened closely enough and found the problem.

People were harder.

They could smile while hiding something.

They could promise to stay and disappear the next day.

They could love you and still leave you.

Miyaka pushed the thought away.

Jason was leaning against one of the worktables when she walked in.

“You're late.”

“I came as fast as I could.”

“You took forty minutes.”

“That's fast for me.”

Jason rolled his eyes.

“You're impossible.”

“And yet you called me.”

He looked at her for a moment.

Then his expression changed.

“Miyaka.”

She knew immediately that something was wrong.

“What?”

Jason glanced around the garage before lowering his voice.

“I saw someone yesterday.”

She crossed her arms.

“Who?”

Jason hesitated.

“Moises.”

The name landed harder than she expected.

Miyaka's fingers tightened around the strap of her helmet.

She forced herself to remain calm.

“So?”

Jason stared at her.

“You don't even want to ask where?”

“No.”

“Miyaka—”

“I said I don't care.”

“You're lying.”

She looked away.

Jason sighed.

“He was at Laurent Industries.”

That made sense.

Moises Laurent was apparently no longer the boy who climbed mango trees with them.

He was now the head of one of the country's most powerful companies.

Miyaka had heard enough rumors over the years to know the Laurent name carried weight. Money. Influence. Connections.

Everything she had spent her adult life avoiding.

“What was he like?” she asked before she could stop herself.

Jason's eyebrows lifted.

Miyaka immediately regretted asking.

“What?” she snapped.

“You said you didn't care.”

“I was curious.”

“Sure.”

“Jason.”

He smiled faintly.

“He looked different.”

Miyaka swallowed.

“How?”

“Older.”

She gave him an unimpressed look.

“Obviously.”

“No, I mean…” Jason paused. “He's not the same kid anymore.”

Something about those words bothered her.

Of course he wasn't.

Neither was she.

People changed.

That was what growing up was supposed to mean.

Still, a strange part of her wanted to know everything.

Did he still laugh the same way?

Did he still tilt his head when he was confused?

Did he still become quiet whenever something bothered him?

Did he remember the mango tree?

Did he remember her?

Miyaka shook her head.

She didn't want those questions.

Especially the last one.

Jason watched her carefully.

“He asked about you.”

Her heart stopped.

“What?”

Jason didn't repeat himself.

“You heard me.”

Miyaka stared at him.

“What did he ask?”

Jason's expression became more serious.

“He asked if you were still racing.”

She laughed once, but there was no humor in it.

“That's it?”

“Yes.”

“Then why are you making it sound important?”

“Because of the way he asked.”

Miyaka's smile faded.

“What way?”

“Like he already knew the answer.”

Silence settled between them.

She looked down at her helmet.

There were probably a hundred explanations.

Maybe someone had told him.

Maybe he had searched her name.

Maybe he had seen her at a race.

Maybe he simply remembered.

The last possibility was the one she didn't want.

Because if Moises remembered, then maybe he remembered everything.

And if he remembered everything, Miyaka didn't know what she would say if he ever stood in front of her and asked why she had waited.

She had spent years pretending she hadn't.

---

Across town, Moises stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of his office.

Below him, the city stretched endlessly.

His office was quiet except for the faint sound of traffic far below.

A file rested open on his desk.

The cover carried one name.

REYES.

Moises stared at it.

He hadn't intended to open it.

He had told himself that there were practical reasons for knowing what was happening with the Reyes family. Business reasons. Nothing more.

That was what he told himself.

But the truth was simpler.

He wanted to know how Miyaka had lived without him.

He wanted to know whether she had been happy.

He wanted to know whether she had forgotten him.

And perhaps, more than anything, he wanted to know whether she had ever waited.

His assistant entered the office.

“Sir?”

Moises closed the file.

“What is it?”

“The board meeting has been moved to three.”

“Fine.”

“There is also another matter.”

Moises looked up.

“The Reyes family has confirmed that they're interested in the Laurent Industries partnership.”

For a moment, Moises said nothing.

Then he asked quietly,

“Who will represent them?”

“Their daughter.”

His expression changed.

“Miyaka?”

“Yes.”

The room suddenly felt too quiet.

His assistant continued speaking, but Moises barely heard the words.

Miyaka was coming to Laurent Industries.

After all these years.

He looked toward the window again.

Somewhere beyond the glass, she was living her life.

Perhaps she had become someone completely different.

Perhaps she hated him.

Perhaps she had forgotten him.

Perhaps—

His thoughts stopped.

Because deep down, there was one thing he already knew.

He had never forgotten her.

Not for one day.

Moises reached into his pocket and touched the old photograph.

The edges were worn from years of being carried around.

Three children.

One promise.

One night that had changed everything.

His eyes darkened.

If Miyaka came to Laurent Industries, he would have to face the past.

And he wasn't sure which frightened him more—

her remembering him,

or her realizing that he had never stopped loving her.

Outside, thunder rolled across the sky.

And for the first time in years, Moises Laurent wondered whether coming home had been a mistake.