جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 80

Kieran POVI had never liked bookstores because they were too quiet.Too many people wandering between shelves, flipping through pages, whispering to one another as though they were afraid the books might wake up and complain.But that afternoon, I found myself standing in one anyway.One of my business partners had suggested meeting somewhere outside the usual office environment. He wanted to discuss a private investment opportunity, and since I had another meeting afterward, I agreed to meet him at a bookstore café.The meeting hadnt taken longer than expected.By the time I stepped away from the table, my phone was already vibrating in my pocket.I ignored it.I walked toward the exit, passing a row of children’s books.Then something fell on my leg.“Thud.I stopped.A book had fallen onto the floor.I looked down.A little girl stood a few feet away, staring at the book with wide eyes.She couldn’t have been more than five.Her blonde hair was tied into two small ponytails, and s

“Mommy?”I looked up from the cup of tea in my hands.Elena was sitting beside me on the couch, still holding the fairy-tale book she had chosen at the bookstore.“Yes, sweetheart?”She smiled.“The nice man that helped me”My fingers tightened slightly around the cup.“What nice man?”“The man who picked up my book.”“Oh.”I forced a small smile.“I remember.”Elena hugged the book against her chest.“He was very nice.”Daniel, who was sitting on the other side of the couch, looked up from his dinosaur book.“He was weird.”Elena frowned.“He wasn’t weird.”“He was.”Daniel closed his book.“When he saw Mommy, he acted strange.”My heart skipped.I looked at him.“What do you mean?”Daniel shrugged.“He just stood there.”Elena nodded.“Yes. He looked at Mommy.”I swallowed.“Maybe he was just surprised.”“But you didn’t even look at him,” Daniel said.I froze.He was right.I had barely looked at the man.Not because I had been rude.I simply hadn’t wanted to.Something about the wa

The morning of the conference arrived with the kind of tension I couldn’t explain. Perhaps it was because everything had finally fallen back into place, or maybe I was nervous to talk to a very large audience. The contract I had lost months ago was finally back in my hands. After weeks of negotiations, legal battles, meetings, and sleepless nights, the deal had been restored. The final documents had been signed. The contract was mine again. Ethan had placed the completed agreement on my desk the previous evening. I’m happy that everything was moving according to plan. Until I walked into the conference hall. The black SUV carrying me slowed as we approached the entrance. Behind us, two more vehicles followed. Security vehicles moved ahead and behind the convoy, clearing the way. The conference venue was already surrounded by activity. Cars filled the parking area. Doctors and medical executives moved toward the entrance, some wearing formal suits, others wearing professio

She didn’t answer immediately.She simply stood there, staring at me.I could see the hesitation in her eyes.For a second, I thought she would walk away.Again.Just like she had six years ago.But then she finally spoke.“Fine.”“I can talk.”Something inside me loosened.I nodded.“There’s a quiet lounge upstairs. We can talk there.”She hesitated again before nodding.“Okay.”I stepped aside and allowed her to walk ahead.I followed a few feet behind.I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.But I couldn’t stop looking at her.Six years.Six years of wondering where she had gone.Six years of questions without answers.And now she is just in front of me.Close enough to touch.Yet somehow still impossibly far away.I miss everything about her and she doesn’t know that. I didn’t expect her to act this way, I’m the one meant to be angry and not her.We entered a private lounge away from the conference hall.The room was quiet.A large window overlooked Manhattan, while soft lighting

The following morning, I couldn’t stop thinking about Aurora.I had barely slept.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her standing in that conference hallway.I saw the hesitation in her eyes.I heard her voice telling me she was married.I had spent the entire night trying to convince myself that I should accept it.She had moved on and she is married with two kids.But something didn’t feel right.There were too many unanswered questions, she was trying to avoid most of the questions I asked intentionally.I sat behind my desk, staring at the city outside my window.My phone was beside me.A message from Ethan appeared.I’m on it.I stared at the message for a moment before replying.Keep it discreet.I put the phone down.I wasn’t proud of what I was doing and I didn’t even why I was doing it.Aurora had made it clear that she didn’t want to explain her life to me.But after six years of searching for answers, I couldn’t simply walk away again.EthanI had expected the assignment to