LOGINElena's POV"Nope,” I said to my own reflection, "We are not doing another week of this emotionally mature avoidance thing."I set my earring down on the bathroom counter.Three days, three full days of Caleb being warm and attentive and infuriatingly normal. He still hadn't said a single word about MetLife.And I had decided, standing in front of my mirror at nine in the morning with one earring in, that today I was just going to ask him directly, like an adult, like someone who had not spent the better part of a week overanalyzing every lingering look between us.I put the second earring in, still staring at my reflection.“I’m just going to ask him," I said quietly, "Simple."I sighed softly, giving my reflection one last look. I was dressed for a football camp, not a board meeting. Dark jeans, white sneakers, a fitted navy top and a light jacket tied around my waist in case the weather changed later.Comfortable. Casual. Completely normal.Which felt ironic considering I was cur
Elena's POVI reread the same email three times. Then a fourth, then a fifth… and somehow I still had no idea what it said. I stared at my laptop screen for another few seconds before dragging my hand down my face.This was ridiculous. Nothing dramatic even happened yesterday.Damien came back. We talked. He left.That’s all. And yet somehow I was still distracted.My eyes drifted automatically toward the glass doors of my office as someone walked past.For one stupid second I looked up. Then I immediately looked back down, sighing again. I forced myself back toward my laptop, trying to focus on the hundreds of reports still waiting for me. Two minutes later footsteps passed and I lifted my head automatically again.Not him.I dropped my forehead lightly against the back of my chair, exhaling softly.“Get a grip, Elena.”The office remained silent.I straightened up and tried answering another email. I lasted maybe thirty seconds before finally shutting my laptop a little harder tha
Elena's POV"Do you know how excited I am for this probation thing to be over?" Adrian groaned beside me as we walked down the corridor. "Two more weeks and I can finally stop pretending I enjoy being in this building this much."I laughed softly."Oh, please," I said. "You love being involved in everybody's business."He pointed at me immediately. “That is completely different," he said.I shook my head, smiling…We kept walking, easy and familiar, and I was grateful for it because I'd barely slept and my brain had been running since before sunrise, replaying last night in pieces. Caleb's face when I told him everything, his voice when he said he wasn't walking away this time… But underneath all of it, one thing kept coming back.He never addressed what I said at MetLife. “I can't stop thinking about you. I don't want this to end.”I didn’t know what it meant.Maybe hearing everything about Damien changed something for him. Maybe he was trying not to pressure me. Maybe I was just
When I finally stopped talking, silence settled between us again. The waves filled the space where words were missing. Caleb stared out toward the water for a few seconds before finally speaking.“I get it now,” he said quietly.I looked at him, waiting for him to finish.“Why you always said it was complicated.”Something in my chest tightened slightly at that. Because it was complicated. It always had been.Then Caleb glanced over at me again, quieter this time.“Can I ask another thing?”I nodded once, holding his gaze.“After all that…” he said carefully, “why did you still go back?”That question hit somewhere deep in my chest because I already knew exactly what he meant.Why did I still love Damien after everything? Why did I keep trying?I looked back toward the water before answering.“Because it wasn’t all bad,” I admitted softly.My throat tightened a little.“There was love there too. Real love.”I looked down at my hands before continuing.“Damien wasn’t just my husband,
Elena’s POVThe apartment was quiet except for the low sound of the TV playing somewhere in the background.I was curled up at the corner of my couch in one of my oversized sweatshirts, half paying attention to whatever movie was on while scrolling absently through emails on my phone.It had been a long day.Not bad. Just… exhausting.My thoughts kept drifting even when I tried not to let them.First to Caleb. Which honestly wasn’t surprising anymore.We’ve been texting constantly the past two days, laughing at stupid things, falling back into old habits. Then, like my brain enjoyed ruining things for me, my thoughts shifted again.Damien would be back in two weeks.The reminder settled heavily in my chest all over again. I stared blankly at the TV for a few seconds, not really seeing it then my phone buzzed beside me before I could spiral any further.I glanced down distractedly, peeking at it.Caleb: Come downstairs.I sat up immediately, grabbed my phone and stared at the message.
Elena's POV"Why do you look suspiciously happy today?"I didn't even look up from my coffee."Good morning to you too, Adrian," I said.He dropped into the chair across from my desk like he lived there, stretching his legs out, watching me with the expression he always wore when he thought he’d figured something out."Seriously," he said, leaning forward slightly."You're different today, what happened?""Nothing happened," I said, setting my cup down and opening my laptop.Then he tilted his head slowly, like something had finally clicked for him."So," he said, keeping his voice deliberately casual. "Should I assume you actually went to Caleb’s game?"I paused for exactly one second. Then I looked up at him, deciding how much I actually wanted to tell him.“Yes,” I said simply. “Now, things are… less complicated.”Adrian stared at me blankly.Then he leaned back and let out a short laugh.“Wow," he said, shaking his head. "Caleb Harding finally making progress after ten years, mirac
Elena’s POV The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Damien.The morning light was streaming through my bedroom window, soft and golden, and he looked so peaceful lying there sleeping beside me.I'd been awake for twenty minutes now, maybe longer, I wasn't sure.I was just watching him, stu
Elena's POV Maya's words had been stuck in my head for three days now, playing on repeat every time I tried to focus on anything else.It was Friday now and I sat at my desk, staring at my computer screen, the quarterly reports blurring together into meaningless numbers.My fingers drummed against
Damien's POV She laid on top of me, with her head on my chest and her fingers moved absently, tracing slow, lazy circles on my chest like she wasn’t thinking at all.My heart was still racing, my body still warm from her, from us.In that moment, everything in the world felt right.“Stay,” I whisp
Elena's pov *Fifteen days later*Christmas had come and gone but I could see my breath when we walked out of the airport, the air still sharp and biting against my skin.The city felt different now, quieter. Decorations still hung on buildings but most had been taken down. We were halfway home fr







