Chapter 13: The Return (Year Four, Late)
The job offer came at the peak of my burnout. I'd just wrapped a major project, slept at the office for three nights straight, and couldn't remember the last time I laughed without faking it. The email landed in my inbox like a lifeline: a senior position at one of the top firms in the state, the kind of job that would launch me into the next level.
Only one problem—it was back home.
I stared at the offer for two days before telling Cameron. He was thrilled. "This is everything you've worked for," he said. "We'll start fresh. Build a real life. Maybe finally look at rings again."
I nodded and smiled like I meant it.
But something inside me was unraveling.
Going home wasn't just a location—it was a confrontation. I wasn't ready. But I also couldn't stay frozen in place, pretending the version of me Cameron loved was real. She was a performance. Polished, poised, driven—but not honest.
The truth was, I still thought about Eli. Not every day. But enough.
Enough that I knew I hadn't moved on, not really.
I took the job. Packed carefully. Left Cameron with vague promises and timelines. "Just a few weeks to settle in," I told him. "We'll figure things out from there."
The flight home was quiet. I watched the skyline come into view, the same streets I used to walk barefoot on summer nights, and felt a strange mix of nostalgia and dread.
My parents welcomed me like no time had passed. My mom cried. My dad hugged me longer than usual. But I saw the question in their eyes—Why now?
I didn't have an answer. At least not one I could say aloud.
The next morning, I reported to orientation. The building was sleek, modern, all glass and brushed steel. My name was on the welcome screen. My future felt close enough to touch.
Then I saw it.
Executive Welcome:kelvin Connor, Chief Financial Officer.
I froze. But I felt it was not the Kelvin I know cause that one was never good with maths. The breath left my lungs.
I reread the name three times. It didn't change.
Kelvin. CFO. My boss's boss. Maybe it's someone else it kept ringing ony mind.
The boy I ran from. The man I never stopped seeing in the corners of my mind.
Somewhere in this building, he was waiting. And he didn't know I was back.
But he would.
And for the first time in four years, I wasn't sure if I was ready to face him—or the truth I'd buried so deep, even Cameron didn't know it.
I had slept with my best friend.
And I never stopped wondering what would've happened if I'd stayed.