Chapter 6: Levi Returns
862 Words
The rain fell in a quiet drizzle the day Levi Kim returned to the city.
Elena didn’t know he was back. Not yet.
He stood just across the street from Rivera Atelier’s newest storefront, watching the glow of its display lights bounce off the wet pavement. Inside, mannequins adorned in cascading silks and sharp, tailored jackets whispered a triumphant return—Elena Rivera’s return.
And Levi, cloaked in a navy wool coat and shadowed by the hood of a thousand regrets, hadn’t missed a single beat of her rise. Every article. Every whispered review. Every photo that made it to the fashion columns.
He hadn’t come to gawk. He’d come to make things right.
Meanwhile, Elena sat in the studio behind the storefront, hunched over fabric swatches and sketches. Her fingers moved with the instinct of someone who lived in design—threading grief into seams, heartbreak into pleats.
But even she had to admit it: the designs looked brighter now.
Callum had a way of encouraging her without pressure. He brought coffee at sunrise. Asked the right questions. Watched her work without interrupting. He saw the girl who had once been left behind and treated her like someone who could build empires.
She’d started to trust him.
That morning, he’d smiled as he left, brushing her knuckles with the edge of his fingers, lingering just long enough to make her heartbeat skip.
She hated how much she noticed those small things.
And then the knock came.
She turned, expecting it to be the assistant, maybe a courier.
It was not.
Her breath hitched. Her hand dropped the swatch. The door opened slowly.
“Hi, Lena.”
Only one person ever called her that.
Levi Kim.
Her childhood best friend. Her almost-everything. The boy who vanished the day her world fell apart. He looked older now—tired around the eyes, but still Levi. Still the one with a smile that could make her forget storms existed.
Elena didn’t speak. Her body was already reacting—numb, cautious.
“I know you probably don’t want to see me,” he said gently, holding up his hands like a man approaching a skittish deer. “But I need to say something. It’s important.”
She crossed her arms, masking the sting in her chest. “It’s been seven years, Levi. Seven.”
“I know.”
“You disappeared without a word. When my father—when everything exploded, you were just... gone.”
Levi lowered his gaze, shame crackling through his posture. “I was scared. And stupid. And I’ve hated myself every day for it.”
Her jaw clenched. “Then why now?”
“Because I heard who’s backing your company.”
She blinked. “You came back because of Callum?”
“I came back because I heard about him, and I know what he’s tied to.” Levi stepped closer. “Elena, he worked for Ashford Wolfe just like Jonathan Cade.”
The name twisted the air. Ashford Wolfe—the man whose empire helped orchestrate the downfall of her father. The same man who vanished with millions and left a trail of ruined businesses.
“I thought Ashford disappeared,” she said, more to herself than to him.
“He did. But his loyal dogs didn’t. Callum Reyes was one of them. Maybe not directly involved, but he knew. And he’s not here just to cheer you on, Elena.”
Elena’s chest constricted. Her thoughts scrambled. “You’re wrong. Callum—he’s nothing like that.”
“I’ve known people like him. And people like Ashford. They don’t let go of assets. They just change packaging. Don’t trust the people offering you dreams on a silver platter.”
The words felt too familiar. Like something her father once said. Like a whisper she’d buried long ago.
Elena stepped back, torn between fury and confusion. “You expect me to believe you, after all this time?”
Levi met her eyes with unwavering sincerity. “No. I just want you to look closely. Because you deserve the truth. Even if it comes from someone who didn’t have the courage to stand beside you before.”
She didn’t answer.
Not when he left her with his number. Not when he slipped out as quietly as he’d arrived.
Only after the door closed again did she press her hands to her eyes and whisper, “Damn you, Levi.”
That night, Callum returned with Thai food and a smile. Elena stared at him longer than usual. Noticing the slight hesitation when she asked about his old company. The brief flicker in his eyes when she said she’d run into an old friend.
She didn’t tell him Levi’s name.
Not yet.
But her world, once bright and blooming, was already starting to fray at the edges.
Because now she was wondering: was her second chance a gift—or a setup?
Levi, from the shadows of the city, kept watching. Not because he didn’t trust her. But because he didn’t trust the people smiling in her light.
He had lost her once.
He wasn’t going to let her be broken again.
- Writer
