1

Delilah stood in front of the house she once called home.

It looked the same… the white stone walls, the little black gate her father had painted every December, the rose bushes that lined the front porch, but something about it felt more polished now. The windows were newer, the driveway had been redone. Even the garden lights had been replaced with sleek, modern ones.

Everything had changed. And yet everything stayed the same.

Her heart ached with strange mix of comfort and fear.

The wind picked up slightly, sweeping her long black hair around her face. It had grown past her shoulders now, silkier, glossier… a curtain of night framing delicate features, that looked more mature than they had two years ago. She was thinner, her waist now impossibly small, her hips more defined, curvier in a way that turned heads, though her eyes still held the same tired softness. She looked like a woman who had healed, but not fully.

The chauffeur opened the car trunk and began unloading her bags. She didn't move just kept staring at the house until…

“Deli!”

Her mother rushed out of the door, apron still tied around her waist, her silver hair undone and floating behind her.

“Mom… ” Delilah whispered, finally stepping forward.

They collided in the middle of the driveway, arms wrapped tightly around each other. Her mother held her like she'd never let go again, both of them smiling quietly, smiling through it.

Elena looked older, the fine lines on her face had deepened. Two years had passed and it showed, but her warmth hadn't changed.

“you’re here, ” she whispered, brushing Delilah's hair back. “You're really here. ”

Delilah nodded against her shoulder.

“Where is dad?” she asked softly.

Elena stepped back with a sigh. “At work. Business has been crazy these days.”

They walked inside together, the house welcoming her like an old friend. The farmiliar scent of fresh-baked bread and lavender greeted her as she took in the living room.

The chauffeur carried her luggage up the stairs, and soon she was alone in her old room. Nothing much had changed… the same pale curtain, the small desk by the window, the photo frame of her and her parents at the beach.

She touched the surface of her dresser slowly, almost like it was a memory she wasn't sure was real.

Just as she placed the last bag behind the bed, a soft knock came at the door.

Her mother stood there, hesitant.

Everything turned still, awkward.

“I…wanted to ask, ” Elena said gently. “Have you…. tried contacting him? ”

Deli shook her head, her voice barely audible. “ He changed his number.”

Her mother didn't respond right away. She leaned on the doorfram, her fingers twisting the edge of her apron.

She didn't mention the way Chase had shown up at there house for weeks after Deli left… the late night-,knocks, the desperate questions, the heartbreak written across his face everytime they told him nothing. She didn't say how he used to sit in his car outside the gate for hours, waiting, hoping. She didn't tell Delilah how, after a while, he just stopped showing up.

And then… .they heard his father had passed away.

Elena's voice broke the silence. “You look different. ”

Delilah smiled faintly. “So do you ”

But neither of them said what they are really thinking.

She was back.

But everything had healed.

But not everyone had forgotten.

★

The boardroom was silent

Tensed

Every executive held their breath as chase Monroe stood at the end of the long glass table, eyes locked on the quarterly projections on the screen.

He didn't blink. he didn't speak. Just stared.

And then, in a voice that sliced through the tension like ice.

“This is pathetic.”

His tone was low. Controlled. But the weight of it cracked through the room.

The head of finance shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Another director cleared his throat and looked away. No one dared to argue.

“you were given a clear direction, ” Chase continued. “And this… .” he gestured at the chart., “....what you came back with? Do I look like I waste time entertaining failure? ”

“N.. no sir. ” one of them stuttered.

Chase raised a brow and the man shrank back into his chair.

“you have forty-eight hours to fix this. Or I'll find someone who can.”

And just like that, the meeting was over.

He turned sharpely and walked out, the room parting for him like a tide. His presence was suffocating, powerful and cold. No one spoke until the door shut behind him.

And yet. As he passed by the office floor, whispers followed, admiring glances trailed him, mostly from women… .interns, assistant, even senior managers. They stared, mouth slightly parted, lips bitten.

Non of them could look away.

Tall, sleek, dressed in jet-black from his custom suit to his leather shoe. Chase didn't just walk, he owed the place he entered. Like a god or a demon in good suit.

But behind the sharp jawline, and steel gaze was a man… clearly bored.

He stepped into the elevator alone, pressed the ground floor and exhaled… .. slowly.

His reflection stared back at him from the gold-trimmed doors. Same face. Same silence.

Only now, there was nothing left in his eyes.

He walked through the lobby. Security stood starighter as he passed. Assistant bowed slightly.

He didn't even glance at them.

Inside the sleek Aston Martin, he tossed his phone onto the passenger seat, and gripped the wheel. The leather creaked under his fingers. He wanted the day to end. Everyday felt the same, hollow wins, faked smiles, controlled power.

His phone buzzed.

Aaron.

He stared at the screen for a second before answering.

“yeah?”

“Yo! You sound like you just killed someone. ” Aaron joked.

“maybe I did. ”

A small chuckle from the other end, “Anyway, I was calling to see if you're coming to the old reunion next weekend. You know…. Hight school nostalgia, same dumb faces.”

“I'm not interested. ”

“Come on, man… ”

“Don’t call me about things like this again.” he said flatly.

His voice was still calm, not rude, but distant enough to close the door.

“Aaron cleared his throat," I mean… I just thought, since she's back”

Silenc

Dead silence.

Chase blinked slowly. His hand froze on the gearshift.

“I heard she is back in town. Delilah. ”

The name rang in his chest like a bullet.

She.

Delilah.

Back?

There was no change in his tone when he replied. Just one sentence.

“I'll be there. ”

Then he hung up.

For a moment, he sat still.

Then slowly… his lips curled.

A dark, humorless chuckle slipped from him…low and bitter. The laugh of a man whose pain had festered long enough to become something dangerous.

He revved the engine once, twice… hard.

And then he peeled out of the lots like a man chasing ghosts.

★

Delilah sat cross-legged on the couch, her finger gently circling the rim of her glass. The house smelled like jasmine and cinnamon… farmiliar, warm, but inside her, everything still felt foreign.

“so,” Ava said, flopping beside her with a dramatic sigh. “Tell me everything. ”

Delilah said faintly, “there's… not much to tell. ”

“Please,” Ava rolled her eyes. “you disappeared off the face of earth for two years without a word. And now you're back looking like a vogue cover model… and your telling me nothing happens. ”

Delilah let out a small breath, glancing toward the window. The evening sun filtered through the curtains in small gold strips. Her hair cut the light, longer, and darker than ever.

Her cheekbones were sharper now, her skin pale but glowing, her body lean with curves in all right places… .but she felt like a stranger in her own skin.

Ava nudged her. “You okay?”

“I'm here, aren't I? ”

“That’s not an answer. ”

Deli just smiled again. Tired. Empty. She hated how good she was at pretending.

So Ava took the lead, lauching into a full rundown of everything Delilah had missed. “Okay. Tanya got married… yes, to that idiot from accounting. And remember Rachel from science class? She moved to L. A, and got a nose job. Looks like a barbie now. Not ina good way. ”

Delilah laughed softly.

“And then, there is Kelly. ” Avant continued. “ You remember Kelly. She owns a spa now, talks about denoxing your aura with moon rocks. Total nonsense. But hey…. business is business.”

It was light, funny, normal, for a moment Delilah felt like she was home again.

But then Ava's voice shifted, just a little.

“You heard anything about Chase? ”

Delilah froze.

Her hand tightened around the glass.

Ava leaned back, signing. “He’s different now, darker, richer, Took over Monroe Holdings after his father died. People say he practically runs the city.

Delilah bit her lower lip, hard.

She remembered the way he used to smile… really smile, when he talked about his dad's Sunday rituals or the company he dreamed of building. And she was there. She had left. Without a word, without giving him the truth.

“He must've been heartbroken, I should have… ”

“Deli,” Ava cut in gently. “You don't have to explain anything. ”

“I was a coward, ” she said. “A selfish one. ”

Ava was quiet for a moment, letting that hanged in the air.

“I haven't see him in over a year," she admitted.

“Nobody has, he keeps to himself now. Like… locked in his own world. ”

Delilah blinked fast, trying not to let the tears fall.

“He deserves better than what I did. ”

Ava reached over, and touched her hands. “Maybe. But there is a reunion next weekend. Everyone's going. And rumor has it….he'll be there.”

Delilah didn't respond at first.

Her pulse was loud in her ears. Her throat felt tight.

Would he even look at her? Would he hate her? Has he forgotten her?

“I'm going,” Ava said lightly. “You should too. ”

Delilah stared into the glass for a long second. Then she nodded

Maybe this was her chance.

To see him again.

To explain.

Or… maybe just to say goodbye.