PART 3 — The Distance Between Us
769 Words
“I accept.”
Her voice was calm.
Too calm.
But something in her eyes…
Wasn’t.
For a moment,
we just stood there.
Facing each other.
Like two strangers
with a past we never talked about.
“Good,” I said finally.
Professional.
Cold.
Just like a CEO should be.
But inside…
It wasn’t that simple.
Because the girl standing in front of me…
Wasn’t just anyone.
She was the reason
I didn’t give up back then.
And now…
She’s working for me.
Fate really has a strange way
of bringing people back.
“Start tomorrow,” I continued.
“8 a.m. Don’t be late.”
She nodded.
No argument.
No emotion.
That bothered me more than it should.
“Is that all?” she asked.
I looked at her.
For a second longer than necessary.
“Yeah.”
She turned around.
Ready to leave.
And for some reason…
I didn’t like that.
“Wait.”
She stopped.
But didn’t turn back immediately.
“…Why did you disappear?”
The question slipped out
before I could stop it.
Silence.
The air changed instantly.
Slowly…
She turned around.
Her expression…
Was different now.
Not cold.
Not distant.
But something else.
Pain.
“You really want to know?” she asked.
I didn’t answer.
I just looked at her.
That was enough.
She let out a quiet breath.
“I didn’t have a choice.”
A simple answer.
But it wasn’t enough.
“You always have a choice,” I said.
Her eyes met mine.
“Not when it involves family.”
That hit deeper than I expected.
I stayed silent.
Waiting.
“My father…” she started,
“…he found out about us.”
Us.
That word…
Felt unfamiliar.
But at the same time…
It brought back memories I thought I forgot.
“He didn’t like you,” she continued.
“He said you were nothing.”
I smiled slightly.
Not surprised.
“I’ve heard worse.”
“But I haven’t finished.”
Her voice was sharper now.
“He told me to stay away from you.”
“And you listened?” I asked.
She looked down.
“I didn’t want to.”
Silence.
“But I had to.”
Something in her voice…
Made my chest feel tight.
“He threatened my family,” she said quietly.
That changed everything.
I didn’t expect that.
“If I didn’t leave…”
“…he would destroy everything we had.”
Her hands clenched slightly.
“So I left.”
Just like that.
No goodbye.
No explanation.
Nothing.
“I thought…” she paused,
“…you would hate me.”
I let out a quiet breath.
“I did.”
She flinched.
Just a little.
“But I also moved on.”
A lie.
Or maybe…
Half a lie.
Because if I really moved on…
Why does this still hurt?
Why does seeing her like this…
Feel so complicated?
“I’m sorry,” she said softly.
That word…
Came too late.
Years too late.
“You don’t need to say that,” I replied.
Because no apology
can change the past.
But still…
Hearing it…
Did something to me.
“I never forgot you,” she said.
My eyes narrowed slightly.
“Then why do you look at me like a stranger?”
That question…
Was the one that mattered the most.
She froze.
For a moment…
She didn’t answer.
Then finally…
She spoke.
“Because I’m scared.”
That wasn’t the answer I expected.
“Of what?”
She looked straight into my eyes.
“Of feeling the same way again.”
Silence.
That hit harder than anything else.
Because deep inside…
I knew exactly what she meant.
And that’s what made it dangerous.
Very dangerous.
I stepped closer.
Slowly.
Closing the distance between us.
“Then don’t,” I said quietly.
But my voice…
Didn’t sound convincing.
Because the truth is…
I wasn’t sure if I could do the same.
She looked at me.
Her eyes softer now.
For the first time since she came back…
She looked like the girl I used to know.
And that…
Was the problem.
Because if she stayed like this…
I might lose control.
Again.
She took a step back.
Breaking the moment.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said.
Then she left.
Just like she did years ago.
But this time…
It felt different.
Because now…
She’s not disappearing.
She’s coming back.
Every single day.
And I’m not sure…
If that’s a good thing.
Because the closer she gets…
The harder it is for me
to pretend I don’t still care.
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