The Girl who Stayed at Sunset

Chapter 5

Isla’s POV

For ten years, I imagined what I would do if Noelle ever came back.

Sometimes, I imagined myself screaming at her.

I imagined telling her how much she hurt me.

I imagined walking away without looking back, proving to myself that I had finally moved on.

But now that she was actually here, standing in front of me again, I realized something.

I had never prepared myself for the possibility that I would still care.

That was the part I hated the most.

Because I wanted to be angry.

I wanted to hate her.

It would have been easier.

But my heart had always been terrible at following what my mind told it to do.

The next few days after our conversation at the beach felt strange.

Noelle didn’t suddenly become a part of my life again.

She didn’t try to force her way back in.

And maybe that was what surprised me.

She gave me space.

She respected the distance I created.

Every morning, I still opened the café.

Every afternoon, I still worked beside Amara.

Every evening, I still watched the sunset.

The only difference was that now, I knew Noelle was somewhere out there.

And somehow, knowing she existed again made forgetting her impossible.

“Are you going to keep pretending you don’t care?”

Amara’s voice made me look up from the counter.

I frowned.

“What?”

She placed a stack of napkins beside me.

“You heard me.”

I rolled my eyes.

“You and Theo should start a club.”

Amara smiled.

“What club?”

“The club of people who think they know me better than I know myself.”

She laughed.

“Isla, I’ve known you since you were seventeen. I watched you fall in love with her. I watch you break because of her.”

I became quiet.

Amara’s expression softened.

“I’m not saying you have to forgive her.”

“I know.”

“I’m not saying you have to let her back in.”

“I know.”

She looked at me carefully.

“I’m saying don’t let your anger make your decision for you.”

I looked away.

Because that was exactly what scared me.

What if I forgave her and she hurt me again?

What if I let myself love her again and she disappeared again?

I had survived losing Noelle once.

I didn’t know if I could survive it twice.

⸻

That evening, my brother Theo visited the café.

He walked in like he owned the place, as usual.

“Still alive?”

I looked at him.

“Nice greeting.”

He smiled and hugged me.

Theo Rivera was one of the few people who could make me smile even when I didn’t want to.

He was my annoying older brother, my biggest supporter, and the person who stayed with me through every heartbreak.

He sat at the counter and looked around.

“So..”

I immediately knew where this was going.

“No.”

He raised his hands.

“I didn’t even saying anything.”

“You were about to.”

He laughed.

“Fine. I was about to ask how it feels seeing your ghost come back.”

I sighed.

“Everyone needs to stop calling her that.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s not a ghost.”

Theo looked at me.

“She disappeared for ten years, Isla.”

I didn’t answer.

Because he wasn’t wrong.

But there was something different now.

“She had a reason.”

Theo became quiet.

That caught his attention.

“What kind of reason?”

I hesitated.

I wasn’t sure if I was ready to tell everyone.

Not yet.

“It’s complicated.”

Theo studied my face.

“You still love her.”

I looked down.

I hated how easily people could see through me.

“I don’t know.”

Theo smiled sadly.

“That’s the biggest lie you’ve ever told.”

I didn’t respond.

Because maybe he was right.

Maybe some feelings don’t disappear.

Maybe they just hide until the person who created them comes back.

⸻

The next morning, I found a small envelope on the café counter.

There was no name.

No message.

Just my name written on the front.

Isla.

I knew immediately who it was from.

My fingers froze.

For a moment, I didn’t want to open it.

Because letters were dangerous.

They carried words.

Words that could change everything.

But curiosity won.

Inside was a photograph.

My breath caught.

It was a picture of us.

Ten years ago.

Noelle and me sitting on the beach.

Both of us laughing.

Both of us looking like we believed nothing could ever separate us.

I turned the photo over.

There was writing behind it.

I kept this because I couldn’t let myself forget the happiest day of my life.

My heart tightened.

Below it were more words.

I know I don’t deserve another chance. I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness. But I want you to know that leaving you was never because I stopped loving you.

I continued reading.

You were the hardest goodbye I ever had to say.

I closed my eyes.

Because suddenly, I was back there.

Back when I was seventeen.

Back when I was holding her hand.

Back when I believed forever was something people could promise.

At the bottom of the letter was one last sentence.

I’ll be at the café tomorrow. Not to ask you to forgive me. Not to ask you to forget what happened. Just to tell you everything I should have told you ten years ago.

I held the photo against my chest.

And for the first time in a long time…

I was scared.

Not because I hated Noelle.

But because a part of me was afraid that I never stopped loving her.

⸻

The next day came too quickly.

I spent the entire morning pretending I wasn’t waiting.

I cleaned tables that were already clean.

I checked orders that didn’t need checking.

I rearranged things that didn’t need rearranging.

Amara watched me from the counter.

“You’re nervous.”

“I’m not.”

She smiled.

“You’re fixing the same chair for the third time.”

I looked at the chair.

Then I looked away.

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.”

Unfortunately, she was right.

Then the bell above the door rang.

And my entire body froze.

Noelle walked in.

This time, she wasn’t the girl who disappeared.

She wasn’t the memory from ten years ago.

She was a woman who had lived a life without me.

And I was a woman who learned how to survive without her.

She approached the counter slowly.

“Hi.”

A simple word.

But somehow, it carried ten years of things we never said.

“Hi,” I answered.

For a moment, neither of us moved.

Then Noelle placed a folder on the counter.

“What’s that?”

“The truth.”

I looked at her.

And suddenly, I realized something.

The truth wasn’t going to bring back the past.

It wasn’t going to erase the pain.

But maybe…

maybe it would finally explain why the girl I loved had to leave.

Noelle took a deep breath.

“Isla, there’s something you need to know about that night.”

I waited.

“There was someone else involved.”

My heart sank.

“Who?”

Noelle looked at me.

And the answer changed everything.

“Someone who wanted us apart.”