Chapter Two: Three Years Later
874 Words
The rain didn't stop until midnight.
Eliana sat alone beside her bedroom window, her unfinished architectural sketches spread across her desk. The yellow glow of her study lamp illuminated pages filled with carefully drawn blueprints, but her pencil remained motionless.
She couldn't focus.
Not after seeing him.
Three years.
Three years of convincing herself that Asher Valencia no longer mattered.
Three years of rebuilding the pieces of a heart he had shattered.
And yet one glance had been enough to drag her back into the past.
She closed her eyes.
*"If hating me helps you move forward... then keep hating me."*
His words echoed through the silence.
Frustrated, Elle slammed her sketchbook shut.
"I do hate you," she whispered to the empty room.
But the words felt heavier than they should have.
---
The next morning, Westbridge University buzzed with excitement.
Graduation preparations covered every hallway. Students laughed while taking pictures in their uniforms. Professors discussed final requirements, and colorful banners decorated the campus entrance.
Elle adjusted the strap of her bag as she walked toward the Architecture Building.
"Morning!"
Mira appeared beside her carrying two iced coffees.
"I knew you didn't sleep."
Elle accepted one with a grateful smile.
"Is it that obvious?"
"You've had the same expression since yesterday."
Elle sighed.
"I saw a ghost."
"No," Mira corrected gently. "You saw Asher."
The name alone made Elle's stomach tighten.
"I don't want to talk about him."
"I know."
They continued walking in silence until they reached the design studio.
Students stood in small groups whispering among themselves.
Every conversation stopped when Elle entered.
She immediately knew why.
A new announcement had been posted on the bulletin board.
**National Architecture Summit**
**University Representatives**
1. Eliana Reyes
2. Asher Valencia
Her breath caught.
"No..."
She stepped closer, hoping she had read it wrong.
But his name remained.
Printed neatly beneath hers.
Mira covered her mouth.
"They can't be serious."
Elle quickly marched toward Professor Mendoza's office.
She didn't bother knocking.
"Professor."
The older man looked up from his paperwork.
"Ah, Miss Reyes."
"I need to talk to you."
He nodded.
"I assume this is about the summit."
"I can't work with him."
Professor Mendoza removed his glasses.
"I expected this reaction."
"You knew?"
"I did."
Elle stared in disbelief.
"Then why would you pair us together?"
"Because despite everything that happened, you and Mr. Valencia remain the two most talented architecture students this university has ever produced."
"I don't care."
"Eliana."
"No," she interrupted. "You don't understand."
Professor Mendoza leaned back in his chair.
"I understand more than you think."
Silence filled the office.
Then he spoke carefully.
"Do you know why Asher transferred back here?"
Elle crossed her arms.
"I don't want to know."
"Sometimes the truth is different from what people believe."
She shook her head.
"The truth?"
A bitter laugh escaped her lips.
"The truth is because of him, my future disappeared."
Without another word, she turned and walked out.
---
Outside, the campus had grown quieter.
Dark clouds gathered once again.
Elle headed toward the old rooftop garden—the one place where no one ever bothered her.
She sat on a weathered wooden bench overlooking the city skyline.
The wind carried the scent of approaching rain.
"You still come here."
Her entire body stiffened.
She didn't have to turn around.
She knew that voice.
"Asher."
He stood a few feet away, hands buried inside the pockets of his jacket.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Finally, Elle broke the silence.
"Are you following me?"
"No."
"Then leave."
"I will."
He didn't move.
Instead, he looked toward the city stretching beneath them.
"The view hasn't changed."
"It has for me."
Another painful silence settled between them.
Then Asher reached into his backpack.
"I found this."
He carefully placed a small leather notebook on the bench between them.
Elle frowned.
It looked familiar.
Slowly, she picked it up.
The worn brown cover carried tiny gold letters.
**E.R.**
Her heart skipped.
"My journal..."
She opened it.
Inside were dozens of sketches.
Dream houses.
Travel plans.
Wedding venues she had once dreamed of designing.
And tucked between two pages...
A faded photograph.
A younger Elle and Asher stood beneath cherry blossom trees, laughing at something outside the frame.
Across the back, written in blue ink, were words that stole the air from her lungs.
**No matter what happens... we'll build our tomorrow together.**
—Asher
Tears blurred her vision.
She looked up sharply.
"Where did you get this?"
"I've kept it."
"For three years?"
He nodded once.
"Why?"
Asher swallowed, his expression unreadable.
"Because it was the only part of you I thought I still deserved."
Before Elle could respond, thunder rolled across the sky.
A single raindrop landed on the photograph.
Then another.
Asher quietly stepped backward.
"I never wanted to destroy your future, Elle."
His voice barely rose above the rain.
"I wanted to protect it."
With that, he turned and disappeared down the rooftop stairs.
Elle stood frozen, clutching the old journal tightly against her chest.
She had spent years believing she knew the whole story.
But for the first time...
She wondered if the truth had been buried long before Asher ever left.
**End of Chapter Two**
- Writer
