Her return

The wheels of the commercial airliner slammed onto the tarmac with a violent judder, the hydraulic screech of the brakes signaling her arrival. Victoria Vance drew a slow, deliberate breath. Even the air inside the cabin felt different now—heavy, sharp, and laced with the familiar scent of a homeland she had been forced to flee five years ago.

She wasn't the broken, pregnant girl who had been carted off to a Philadelphia asylum anymore. Underneath her layered, oversized tailored jacket, her posture was rigid and controlled. She grabbed her leather duffel bag, her gloved fingers tightening around the strap.

Stepping out into the bustling terminal of the airport, Victoria scanned the crowd. Amidst the sea of rushing strangers, her eyes locked onto a short, plump woman waving frantically.

"Vicky! Over here!"

Anna’s voice pierced through the ambient noise of the airport. Before Victoria could even set her bag down, Anna collided with her, throwing her arms around Victoria’s neck in a fierce, breathless hug. For a split second, the cold, mercenary wall Victoria had built over five years cracked. She squeezed her childhood friend back, absorbing the familiar warmth she hadn't felt since her world fell apart.

Pulling away, Anna immediately snatched the handle of Victoria's duffel bag, lifting it with an aggressive huff. "Let me get that. God, you look... different. Stronger."

"And you haven't changed a bit," Victoria said, a rare, teasing smirk playing on her lips. She adjusted the collar of her jacket, deliberately keeping her voice in a lower, husky register out of pure habit from her years in hiding. "So, how is your poor fiancé?"

Anna rolled her eyes, groaning loudly as they walked toward the sliding glass doors of the terminal. "Don't even get me started! That man decided to work overtime again. On the day you come back!"

Victoria felt a quiet pang of nostalgia. The three of them Victoria, Anna, and Joshua had been inseparable since they were kids. Joshua had harbored a massive crush on Anna since middle school, and Anna had made him sweat for years before finally letting him in. In the past, they hadn't been a trio, though. They had been a quartet. Her mind briefly flashed to Julian, her own former fiancé, before she violently locked the memory away in the darkest corner of her mind. Julian didn't deserve her thoughts. Not anymore.

"He's just trying to provide for his demanding future wife," Victoria countered gently as they stepped out into the crisp evening air.

"He better be buying me a mansion," Anna muttered, unlocking her car with a sharp click of her key fob.

Before they could reach the passenger door, an explosion of camera flashes burst from the VIP terminal across the lane. A crowd of aggressive paparazzi swarmed around a sleek, black luxury SUV.

Victoria's gaze instinctively snapped toward the commotion. Emerging from the terminal doors, draped in high-end designer silk and flashing a practiced, predatory smile for the cameras, was Cordelia Vans. Her stepsister.

Beside her, Victoria felt Anna stiffen. Anna’s eyes went wide with a mix of panic and pure, unadulterated fury. Hoping Victoria hadn't noticed the golden child who had stolen her life, Anna violently grabbed Victoria by the shoulder, shoving her toward the passenger seat.

"Get in. Right now," Anna ordered, her voice dropping into a harsh, protective whisper.

Victoria didn't fight her. She slipped into the car, pulling the door shut with a heavy thud. Anna scrambled into the driver's seat, slammed the keys into the ignition, and threw the car into drive. The tires screeched against the asphalt as Anna ripped away from the curb, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the steering wheel with absolute rage.

Through the tinted side mirror, Victoria watched Cordelia’s shrinking figure dissolve into the distance. Five years ago, that girl and her accomplices had stripped Victoria of her dignity, her baby, and her sanity. Seeing Anna’s silent, protective anger only solidified the cold reality of why she was back. The countdown had officially begun.

The hum of the highway filled the tense silence inside the car, but it did nothing to cool the temperature in the cabin. Anna’s chest heaved with every breath, her gaze darting aggressively between the road and the rearview mirror as if she could still see the paparazzi flashes.

"Seeing her makes me so mad," Anna spat, her voice trembling with a cocktail of old grief and fresh fury. She aggressively punched the turn signal. "Especially since they made that disgusting public announcement about their engagement last week. It was all over the news. Front page. Like they're some kind of royalty."

The words hung in the air like heavy smoke.

Realizing exactly what she had just let slip, Anna gasped softly, her foot faltering slightly on the gas pedal. Panic flashed across her face. She risked a sharp, terrified look over at the passenger side.

Victoria didn't flinch. She sat perfectly still, her face a mask of absolute, unreadable stone. Her eyes remained locked on the blurry concrete barriers passing outside her window. There were no tears, no gasps, no trembling hands just a terrifying, blank expression that looked entirely unnatural on a twenty-four-year-old girl.

Julian and Cordelia. Engaged.

"Oh my god, Vicky, I am so sorry," Anna stammered, her voice cracking as she quickly turned her eyes back to the road, her knuckles turning even whiter on the steering wheel. "I'm an idiot. Let’s not talk about them. Let's not even think about them. They don't exist tonight."

Victoria finally turned her head, her dark eyes pinning Anna with a calm that was far more unsettling than tears.

"It's fine, Anna," Victoria said softly, her tone entirely even, carrying the deep, husky cadence she had practiced for half a decade. "You don't have to walk on eggshells around me. I didn't come back to cry over a stolen fiancé."

Anna carried the smaller bag inside, her eyes scanning the sleek, sterile space before turning back to Victoria.

"So, until when are you going to stay in a hotel? Should I look for a house for you?" Anna asked, her voice filled with a protective anxiety as they moved further into the room.

"It's okay, I will stay here for some time before I can think of something," Victoria said softly. She dropped her leather duffel bag onto the floor and collapsed onto the sofa, letting out a long, exhausted breath.

They talked, laughed, and reminisced about their childhood back when life was measured by middle school crushes and stolen afternoons, long before the world became a battleground. After Anna left, the crushing silence filled the room.