CHAPTER 3
1585 Words
GHOST IN HIS MIND
Austin woke slowly that morning like a city reluctant to come down from the high of the night before.
The streets were still damp, glistening under a pale wash of early sunlight. Rainwater clung to the edges of sidewalks, pooled lightly along curbs, reflecting a softened version of the city that only existed in moments like this quiet, suspended, almost reflective.
The air carried that faint scent of rain and asphalt, cooled now, calmer.
But inside the glass-walled penthouse overlooking downtown. There was no calm. Sleep had not come.
Jayden Craig stood barefoot at the edge of his floor-to-ceiling windows, a glass of whiskey resting loosely in his hand.
Untouched.
The ice had long melted, diluting the amber liquid into something weaker. He hadn’t noticed.
Hadn’t cared.
He hadn’t changed.
Hadn’t slept.
Hadn’t stopped thinking.
The city stretched beneath him; alive, shifting, already moving toward the next thing.
But his mind was still somewhere else.
Still in that restaurant.
Still on her.
Ella.
Her name moved through his thoughts like something familiar for someone he had met only once.
He exhaled slowly, dragging a hand through his hair, tension settling deeper into his shoulders.
It didn’t make sense.
None of it did.
He had meetings today. Important ones. Investors flying in. Contracts waiting to be signed. Decisions that required clarity, precision and control.
The word lingered.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Because that was the problem, wasn’t it?
For the first time in years, he didn’t have it.
He tightened his grip slightly on the glass, then loosened it just as quickly.
This wasn’t like him. He had built his life on discipline. On focus. On knowing exactly where his attention belonged and never allowing anything to disrupt that.
But now, his thoughts kept circling back to her.
He had met women before.
Plenty.
Beautiful women.
Smart women.
Strategic women.
Women who knew how to position themselves, how to hold attention, how to move within his world without losing themselves or at least without showing it.
But they all followed the same pattern.
Interest.
Effort.
Expectation.
And eventually, disappointment.
Always disappointed.
Jayden leaned his forehead lightly against the cool glass, closing his eyes for just a moment.
And then, Becca.
The name surfaced without permission.
Sharp.
Clear.
Unwelcome.
He hadn’t thought about her in a long time not like this.
Not with feeling attached.
Not with memory still carrying weight.
A different city.
A different version of him.
One who still believed in things he no longer entertained.
“Jayden, you don’t understand.”
Her voice echoed through his mind, as vivid as if she were standing behind him now.
“I need more than just love.”
He remembered the way she had looked when she said it—frustrated, distant, already halfway gone.
He had laughed.
Not because it was funny.
But because it hurt too much to react any other way.
“I gave you everything.”
He remembered that too.
The certainty in his voice.
The belief.
The mistake.
“No,” she had said, shaking her head slowly. “You gave me your version of everything.”
That had been the moment.
The shift.
The c***k.
And then, she walked away.
Not for love.
Not for something deeper.
But for something more secure.
Older.
Richer.
More established.
Jayden’s jaw tightened.
He remembered the man.
Calculated. Predictable.
Temporary.
Because men like that didn’t love.
They possessed.
And eventually,
They discarded.
Just like he knew that man would.
And when it happened?
Becca disappeared.
No apology.
No return.
No explanation.
Gone.
Leaving behind nothing but a lesson Jayden had carved into himself permanently:
Love was not enough.
It had never been.
And it never would be.
His eyes opened again, gaze settling back on the city below.
So why,
Why was he here, sleepless, distracted, unsettled because of a girl who hadn’t even looked at him twice?
He let out a quiet, humourless laugh.
“This is ridiculous.”
The words felt hollow the moment they left him.
Because he knew it wasn’t.
Her face came back again.
Uninvited.
Unrelenting.
The way she moved.
The way she spoke was short, direct, uninterested.
The way she didn’t react.
Didn’t respond.
Didn’t adjust.
“What is it about you” He murmured under his breath.
It wasn’t just an attraction.
He knew attraction.
This wasn’t that.
This was something else.
Something that felt personal.
And he didn’t like not understanding it.
Across the city, in a small apartment that barely held everything it needed to, Ella Johnson was already awake.
Not because she had rested.
But because she didn’t have a choice.
“Ella!”
Her mother’s voice carried from the kitchen.
“You’ll be late!”
“I’m up!” she called back quickly, already moving.
She tied her hair into a loose bun as she crossed the small space, her movements efficient, automatic. Her body felt heavy, like sleep had brushed past her but never settled.
Still, she kept going.
She always did.
The apartment was small but full.
A thin curtain separated her sleeping space from the rest of the room. The couch had seen better days. The table was cluttered with books, notebooks, unpaid bills, and loose papers stacked in uneven piles.
Life.
Real.
Demanding.
Her younger sister, Pearl, sat hunched over her notes, pencil tapping lightly against the page.
“Did you finish your assignment?” Ella asked, slipping into her shoes.
Pearl groaned without looking up. “Almost.”
Ella paused.
“Almost isn’t finished.”
“I’ll do it before school.”
Ella gave her a look.
A quiet one.
But enough.
Pearl sighed. “Okay, I’ll finish it now.”
A small smile touched Ella’s lips.
“Good.”
This was her world.
Not luxury.
Not easy.
No choice.
But responsibility.
Structure.
Survival.
And strangely, she didn’t resent it.
Because everything she did mattered.
But as she reached for her bag and stepped outside, a thought slipped in.
Uninvited.
Him.
The man from the restaurant.
She frowned slightly.
Why?
Why was she even thinking about him?
It had meant nothing.
A passing interaction.
A moment already gone.
And yet, there had been something in the way he looked at her.
Not like the others.
Not careless.
Not curious.
Intentional.
Focused.
Like he had already decided something she didn’t understand.
She shook her head quickly.
“No.”
Her voice was quiet but firm.
“Not my business.”
And just like that she moved on.
Craig Global stood tall in the centre of Austin.
Glass.
Steel.
Precision.
Power.
Everything about the building reflected control.
Inside, it operated like a machine.
Assistants moved with urgency.
Phones rang in quick succession.
Screens lit up with numbers, projections, decisions waiting to be made.
Everything flowed.
Everything aligned.
Everything worked.
And at the centre of it, Jayden Craig.
Or at least, the version of him everyone expected.
“Mr. Craig, the investors are ready.”
His assistant stood at the door, tablet in hand.
Jayden didn’t look up immediately.
“Give me five minutes.”
She hesitated.
“You’ve already rescheduled twice.”
His gaze lifted slowly.
Sharp.
Measured.
“I said five minutes.”
A beat.
“Yes, sir.”
She left.
Immediately.
The door closed.
Silence followed.
And then, Jayden leaned back in his chair, exhaling slowly.
Five minutes.
To do what?
Focus?
Reset?
Forget?
He picked up a file.
Read the first line.
Nothing registered.
His mind drifted.
Again.
To her.
To the way she had dismissed him.
Effortlessly.
Without intention.
Without awareness.
His jaw tightened.
This was becoming a problem.
“Get a grip.”
He stood abruptly, pacing once across the room.
“You don’t even know her.”
That should have been enough.
It had always been enough.
But not this time.
He stopped.
Turned.
Walked back to his desk.
Picked up his phone.
Paused.
Then dialled.
“You’re calling this early?” Terry’s voice came through, amused.
“I need information.”
A pause.
“What kind of information?”
Jayden didn’t hesitate.
“A girl.”
Silence.
Then, Max’s voice in the background.
“Oh, this is about to be interesting.”
“You’re serious?” Terry asked.
“Yes.”
“From last night?”
“Yes.”
Max laughed. “You’re finished.”
Jayden’s tone shifted just slightly.
“I don’t repeat myself.”
Another pause.
Then Terry exhaled.
“Alright. What do you need?”
Jayden’s gaze hardened.
“Everything.”
And just like that the line had been crossed.
This was no longer curiosity.
No longer a distraction.
This was the intention.
At the restaurant, Ella moved the way she always did.
Steady.
Focused.
Precise.
Orders came in.
Orders went out.
Conversations blurred into background noise.
Plates stacked.
Time moved.
But something felt different.
Not wrong.
Just off.
Like a quiet shift beneath the surface.
She couldn’t explain it.
Didn’t try to.
But she felt it.
And across the city, Jayden sat back in his chair, eyes dark with thought.
He had made his decision.
He wasn’t going to forget her.
Wasn’t going to move on.
Wasn’t going to let this go.
Because something about her didn’t feel accidental.
Didn’t feel random.
It felt unfinished.
And Jayden Craig didn’t walk away from things that mattered.
Even when he didn’t fully understand why they did.
Somewhere in the city, Ella lived her life.
Unaware.
Untouched.
Unprepared.
And somewhere else, Jayden was already stepping into it.
Quietly.
Deliberately.
Inevitably.
- Writer
