All Chapters of Promises We Never Forget: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

One Week Later New York City Kai Bennett — 21 Adrian Cole — 40 Marcus Bennett — 41 Sarah Bennett — 39 ⸻ The hardest part wasn’t the rejection. It was pretending nothing had happened. For the first time in nearly twenty years… Kai didn’t know what to say when Adrian called. His phone lit up every evening at nine. Just as it always had. Only now… He stared at the screen for several seconds before answering. “…Hey.” Adrian smiled softly from the other end. “Hey.” An awkward silence followed. Something that had never existed between them before. ⸻ “So…” Adrian cleared his throat. “How are classes?” “They’re good.” “And football?” “Good.” “Your AI project?” “It’s going well.” “I’m glad.” Silence. Again. Their conversations had once stretched for hours. Now… They struggled to fill five minutes. ⸻ After they hung up… Kai placed his phone on the desk and covered his face with both hands. “I’ve ruined it.” His roommate looked up from across the room. “R

Graduation morning arrived beneath a clear spring sky. The university campus buzzed with excitement. Families filled the walkways, and graduates hurried across the grounds in black gowns, adjusting caps and laughing as cameras flashed from every direction. Everywhere, people were celebrating endings and beginnings. Kai stood in front of the mirror inside the graduates' hall, adjusting the collar beneath his gown for what felt like the tenth time. His roommate laughed. "If you fix that tie one more time, I’m forcing it out of you. I know You're nervous but calm down" "I'm fine," Kai said, smiling distractedly, though he'd checked his phone several times in five minutes. His roommate folded his arms. "Ok start talking, asides your parents who else is coming?" "My parents and my …….. uncle" His roommate laughed. "Your uncle? The same man that comes with your parents every time? Your uncle? Ok then whatever you say." Kai only smiled. Outside, a black SUV pulled smoothly to the curb

Marcus walked into Adrian’s office with an easy smile, completely unaware that the news he was carrying was about to shatter the calm atmosphere. “Why are you always here, don’t you have a company to run or something?” Adrian asked, his eyes never leaving the laptop screen. He already knew it was Marcus; no one else would walk into his office without knocking or having his secretary announce them first, as though the place belonged to him. “Kai’s coming back.” Adrian looked up from his laptop. “Ok, that’s good news, he’s your son so obviously he’s allowed to come to New York, he hasn’t been here in years” “He said he wants to spend a year here in New York .” Marcus said, taking a seat and casually crossing one leg over the other. Adrian’s fingers stopped moving across the keyboard. “What!” Marcus leaned casually against the couch. “Exactly what I said, Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad he’s coming, but I still think his company is too new for him to step away for an entire

Adrian had spent the entire week avoiding Marcus. Not obviously. At least, he didn’t think it was obvious. He had simply become exceptionally busy. There were meetings that didn’t need to happen, dinners he suddenly couldn’t miss, reports that apparently required his personal attention, and on Friday afternoon, an international conference call that somehow lasted three hours. None of it was unusual enough for Marcus to accuse him of anything. At least, that was what Adrian told himself. The truth was much simpler. He didn’t want to go to Marcus’s house. Because Kai was coming back to New York, and Adrian didn’t know when, That was the worst part. If Kai had given him a date, Adrian could have prepared himself. He could have arranged another business trip,He could have found an excuse,he could have made himself scarce for a few days. But Kai had simply told him he was coming back. No date, no flight information. Nothing. Just a casual statement that had been sitting in Adrian’s

After helping Mum with the dishes, I needed a breather, so I stepped out onto the balcony. The house had grown quieter behind me. The sounds of Mum and Dad talking in the kitchen drifted faintly through the glass doors, mixed with the occasional clink of dishes being put away and the low hum of the television from the living room. Outside, everything felt calmer. The city lights stretched endlessly beyond the railing, scattered across the darkness like tiny stars. Cars moved along the distant roads, their headlights appearing and disappearing between buildings. Somewhere below, I could hear the faint sound of laughter from a neighboring house, followed by the distant bark of a dog. I rested my arms against the railing and took a deep breath, letting the cool night air settle over me. It felt strange being here again. Everything looked almost exactly as I remembered it, yet somehow it felt different now that I was seeing it as an adult. This was the balcony where I used to s