All Chapters of Ex-change : Chapter 11 - Chapter 13

The next time I met Eric was nothing short of a scene ripped straight from a romcom.It was a Saturday—the kind meant for staying in, binge-watching trash TV, or complaining to Jenna about our boss over greasy takeout. Or, if duty called, stalking a celebrity for a scandal. Anything but this.Instead, I was stuck in a high-end restaurant on a blind date my mother set up.My date was going on (and on) about a high-profile case he’d won for some CEO, and I was seconds away from using the woman at the table behind me as a mental escape hatch.She was telling her friends how her ex had posted another girl with a heart emoji caption, claimed it was her birthday, and said they were cousins—except she knew the girl. She was a senior back in her school days, and definitely not family.I was this close to turning my chair around to hear the full gist when he walked in.Eric.Wearing a perfectly tailored suit—his signature look—he walked like someone who knew the world watched him and didn’t mi

"She was the kind of person who leaves a mark on every soul she meets."I didn’t need a follow-up to know Damien was talking about his ex.We were still sitting on the hill, the city spread out beneath us like a painting. Maybe it was the quiet, maybe the view—but something about the moment cracked him open.“Her name was Elena,” he said, softer now. “Gentle as her name. Fierce at heart.”He didn’t wait for a response. Just kept talking, like the words had been waiting for an escape route.“I met her while covering a case like the one at the clinic. Her father was involved, but she never flinched. She stood her ground.”He paused.“We started dating not long after. And every moment with her felt like poetry.”He wasn’t looking at me anymore. Just out into the skyline, like the past was painted there.“She moved in. I thought maybe forever was real. Then one night, I came home and—she was just gone. Like someone scooped out part of me and left a ghost behind.”His voice wavered. Not en