All Chapters of Coming Back, To Say Goodbye!: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

"I'll show Olivia. She and Marie both love places like this."Nadine's happiness vanished instantly. The words landed like a slap. Nadine forced her eyes off Adrian and onto anything else, the less crowded pathways of the park, until her eyes fell on a small, live acoustic performance set up inside a wooden gazebo in the center of the gardens."Let's move on," she said, and walked. Adrian, still fiddling with his phone to record the view, fell a step behind. "Nadine! Don't rush!" Adrian called out, his voice laced with mild confusion.Nadine didn't hear him, or rather, she refused to look back. Deep down, a terrifying realization gripped her. If she stopped now, if she turned around, the jealousy she'd spent a lifetime learning to hide would show on her face, and she refused to let it. Don't look back. Keep walking, she commanded herself.Once you look back, your feelings will be exposed, and Adi will see right through you."Nadine!" Adrian called again, louder this time. Finally,

The sneakers still smelled faintly of new rubber. Nadine laced them up anyway, telling herself it meant nothing."Let's go," she said. "I want to try them out."She didn't tell Adrian that she'd already decided something on the walk down the stairs: Today, she would not let herself feel anything. Not about the shoes. Not about him.Adrian could only comply, and they continued their postponed errands.At the lake while she waited for him at the ticket booth, Nadine glanced down at the plain white sneakers, so out of place against her outfit. She expected annoyance. Instead, a smile crept up before she could stop it.Adrian turned away to make sure Nadine still waited for him. No stilettos this time. Adrian noticed it too. A small, satisfied glance down at her sneakers as he paid for the tickets but said nothing, just handed the boatman their fare.The boat was smaller than Nadine expected, a narrow wooden hull that dipped when they stepped in, an old boatman rowing them out toward the

The gleaming glass doors of Big Step International felt less like a welcoming entrance and more like the gates of a battlefield. "What is this?"Anna stood by Nadine's desk, her posture stiffening as she eyed the souvenir bag Nadine held out to her."A souvenir, Ann," Nadine said, smiling, entirely out of place in the sterile office.Anna took the bag cautiously and peered inside. A faint smile touched her lips as she lifted out a box of chocolate. "You really enjoyed your honeymoon, Miss Nadine?"Nadine walked behind her desk."Of course I enjoyed it," Nadine said, sinking into her chair. "Mostly because I got so much done."Anna clicked her tongue. "You don't need to rush straight into evaluating projects two years out. Relax a little."Nadine laughed, her chest tightening at the words.How can I relax, Ann? I have less than three years before the death prophecy claims my life. I don't have the luxury of slowing down."I can't," Nadine said quietly. "Did you get the financial data

"It's not just you.... There's one more person who thinks like that, but doesn't quite realize it."Benjamin turned toward Adrian, gaping as his cousin flashed a rare, soft smile, directly at Nadine."But Benjamin's is still the best," Nadine mumbled around another bite, lips curling in a satisfied smirk.Benjamin caught the sudden set of Adrian's jaw as his cousin shot him a warning look. Across the room, Marie chuckled."Ehem... Nadine," Benjamin said, dramatic as ever. "Adrian went all over town searching for that specific cheesecake, you know."Adrian's glare could have frozen the room."Mmm-hmm..." Nadine hummed, too absorbed in her cake to notice Benjamin had just handed her leverage.Adrian stepped closer, his frame casting a warm shadow over her. "It's almost the same, just like Benjamin’s cake," he said, too smoothly.Nadine looked up. "Adrian, lower your head."Before he could react, she scooped a small piece onto her spoon and held it up. "Say aaa."Adrian froze for half a

"Huh! Alex!" The shock of it froze her in place. Before Nadine’s pulse could even catch up to her brain, her arms were pinned by a sudden, enveloping embrace. "Alexander Barrett," she breathed, saying it slower this time as disbelief bled into a sudden, aching warmth. Of course, she knew him. In her past life, he had been the very first person she called the moment her honeymoon plans fell apart. But in this life, she hadn't reached out at all.Standing right beside them, Anna merely shook her head, her robotic demeanor entirely unbothered by the dramatic display. "Mr. Barrett, we'd better step into Miss Nadine's office," she instructed crisply.Alex clicked his tongue, flashing an effortless smile at Anna. "You can call me Alex."He pulled a still-shocked Nadine into her room. Anna followed closely behind, shutting the heavy mahogany door, sealing them off from the prying eyes of the corporate floor.Guiding Nadine to the sofa, Alex looked visibly amused by her sheer bewilderment