THE ROAD BACK
959 Words
The Christmas holiday was almost over, yet Kelvin hadn't reached out to me. Every passing day made my heart heavier. Six years together couldn't possibly end in complete silence... could they?
One evening, while I was playing snooker with Cruz, my phone rang.
It was Kelvin.
His voice trembled as he begged to see me. Although I had already planned to end our relationship for good, I agreed to meet him one last time.
When we met, he looked nothing like the confident man I had always known. His eyes were filled with regret.
"Eva," he whispered, "I'm so sorry."
He admitted that what I had seen with Jane was exactly what it looked like a terrible mistake. He confessed that he had betrayed my trust and said he hated himself for hurting me.
"I don't expect you to forgive me today," he said. "But whenever you do, our home will always be open to you. And you'll always be welcome at the coffee shop."
His words touched me, but they couldn't erase the pain I had carried since that day.
That night, I called Betty and told her everything.
"So," she asked softly, "what do you really want?"
I stayed silent for a while before answering.
"I still love Kelvin... but I can't find a reason to go back."
"Then don't let guilt make the decision," Betty replied. "Follow your heart."
Her advice stayed with me.
A few days later, the holiday ended, and everyone returned to work.
I was genuinely happy to see Betty again.
"Girl," she laughed, "you've missed so much! I have plenty of stories to tell you."
I smiled.
"I can't wait to hear all of them."
As we talked, I couldn't help bringing up something that had been bothering me.
"Don't you think it's time to tell Cruz about you and Mark? Keeping your relationship a secret forever isn't healthy."
Betty sighed.
"I know... but not yet. I'm afraid he'll interfere again."
Before I could respond, our attention shifted to the newest member of our team.
Her name was Ivory.
She was intelligent, confident, and had an impressive reputation in AI design. She and Cruz had been friends since high school, and because of her outstanding record, the board appointed her as the project leader for our biggest assignment yet.
Watching Ivory take charge was difficult.
For the first time since joining the company, I no longer felt like the employee everyone noticed.
Cruz spent nearly all his time discussing ideas with her.
I hated admitting it, but I felt invisible.
One evening, inspiration struck me. I came up with a creative concept that could completely transform the project.
For a moment, I considered keeping it to myself. Maybe this was my chance to prove I deserved more recognition.
But after thinking about it, I remembered why I joined the company in the first place—to create something meaningful.
So I shared my idea with Ivory.
To my surprise, she welcomed it warmly.
"Eva," she smiled, "this is brilliant. Let's build on it together."
For the first time, I realized that true success wasn't about competing with others—it was about contributing something valuable.
Unfortunately, life had other plans.
After another exhausting day at work, I was walking down the office staircase when everything suddenly went black.
The next thing I remembered was opening my eyes in a hospital bed.
My left arm was broken, my body was covered in bruises, and the doctor instructed me to rest for several weeks.
I was devastated.
Our final presentation to the board was only weeks away, and I feared all my hard work had been wasted.
When Kelvin heard about my accident through Betty, he visited me.
"You don't have to keep pushing yourself," he said gently. "Come back to the coffee shop. The work is easier."
I smiled sadly.
"Thank you... but I'd rather teach ICT than give up on the career I've worked so hard to build."
He nodded quietly.
For the first time in a long while, he understood my dream.
After weeks of recovery, presentation day finally arrived.
Everyone expected me to stay home.
Instead, I walked into the conference room.
Thanks to Betty, my injuries were hidden beneath carefully applied makeup and neatly covered clothing. She even convinced me to remove my arm sling just long enough to present.
Every step hurt.
Every smile was forced.
But I refused to let my dream slip away.
When I finished presenting, the room erupted in applause.
The board loved my proposal.
They even offered me the opportunity to lead the project.
As much as I wanted to accept, I knew my body wasn't ready.
With great reluctance, I declined.
"I'll contribute in every way I can," I said. "But right now, I need time to recover."
Ivory congratulated me warmly.
"You earned this," she said.
Her words meant more than she probably realized.
As the project moved forward, however, I noticed something strange.
Cruz and Ivory began spending almost all their time together.
Meetings happened without me.
Important decisions were made before I even heard about them.
Soon, I learned that Ivory had temporarily moved into Cruz's house because they were working long hours on the project.
Without knowing the full story, jealousy crept into my heart.
Maybe Cruz really was the playboy everyone described.
Maybe I had imagined the connection between us.
Feeling lonely and emotionally exhausted, I made a decision.
Not because I had forgotten the betrayal...
Not because the pain had disappeared...
But because I still believed six years of love deserved one final chance.
I returned to Kelvin.
Not to sell coffee.
But to see whether two broken hearts could learn to trust each other again.
- Writer
