WHEN WE FELL AGAIN

RETURN

Chapter 1 – Return

Ava Morgan stepped off the plane with a stiff back and a heart that hadn’t relaxed in years. Heathrow smelled the same. Cold air, too many people, and that sterile airport perfume that always made her nervous. London hadn’t changed. But she had. Or at least, she told herself she had.

Her phone buzzed in her coat pocket. “Welcome back to London,” the screen read. A text from her sister, Mia. Ava didn’t reply.

She walked through the terminal like a ghost slipping back into her old life. Hair pinned up, coat sharp, boots clicking against polished floors—she looked like she belonged. But inside? She was a wreck holding herself together with lipstick and pride.

Five years ago, she left this city for good. Five years ago, Ethan Blake told her he loved her—then destroyed her with one choice. She’d built her life from scratch in New York after that. New job. New friends. New rules. The number one rule? Never look back.

But looking back was exactly what she was doing now.

Outside, the air bit into her cheeks. A black car waited at the curb, driver holding up a sign: Morgan. She slid into the back seat and gave the driver one sharp nod.

“Home?” he asked.

“No,” she said. “To Bloomsbury Hotel.”

He pulled off without a word.

She didn’t want to go home. Not yet. Her parents were still there—still pretending nothing had happened. Like Ava hadn’t broken. Like Ethan hadn’t walked away from her like she was something he needed to leave behind to breathe.

The city blurred past the window, lights glowing like memories. She remembered this street. That café. The bookstore where he kissed her for the first time. Ava closed her eyes. Damn it. She wasn’t going to cry over him again. Not now. Not ever.

The hotel was sleek, quiet, and just expensive enough to keep her hidden. She didn’t want to run into anyone from the past—not yet. Especially not him.

Ava dropped her bags and headed to the bar. She needed a drink strong enough to numb five years of silence.

“Scotch,” she told the bartender. “Neat.”

The glass landed in front of her, amber and promising.

“You haven’t changed a bit.”

The voice behind her froze her spine.

No. Not now. Not tonight.

She turned slowly. Ethan Blake stood there like a ghost she didn’t summon. Tall. Sharp suit. The same storm-grey eyes. And that same look that used to melt her from the inside out.

Ava didn’t flinch. Didn’t blink.

“Well,” she said coolly. “That makes one of us.”