Chapter Three: The Reunion
509 Words
The café was quiet, the kind of place Ethan preferred when he wasn’t surrounded by assistants, meetings, and flashing cameras.
His security team waited discreetly outside. His laptop was open, a half-written email glowing on the screen, but he wasn’t really reading it.
He rarely had moments like this.
Moments where the world wasn’t asking him to sign something, approve something, save something.
Then he heard it.
A laugh.
Soft. Warm. Familiar.
Ethan froze.
The sound sliced through him like glass. It had been ten years since he’d heard it, but he knew. He knew.
Slowly, he looked toward the counter.
And there she was.
Maya.
She looked older now, more graceful, her hair longer, her face softer, her smile exactly the same. She wore a simple dress, nothing flashy, but she didn’t need to.
The room seemed to go quiet. Ethan’s heart pounded hard enough that he could feel it in his throat.
For years, he had imagined this moment dozens of scenarios where he’d meet her again. In some, he’d charm her immediately. In others, he’d stay silent and just watch.
But in this moment, all of that vanished.
He stood up before he even realized he was moving.
When Maya stepped away from the counter, Ethan timed it perfectly, intercepting her path near the sugar station.
“Excuse me—” His voice sounded steadier than he felt.
She looked up, polite, a little surprised. “Yes?”
Ethan hesitated. He could have introduced himself like the powerful man he was Ethan Vale, CEO of Vale Group.
But no. Not yet.
“Sorry,” he said, managing a small smile. “But did you… volunteer at the city museum? Years ago?”
Maya blinked, then let out a soft laugh that made Ethan’s chest tighten.
“Wow,” she said. “Yes, I did. That was… ages ago. You must have a good memory.”
“I guess I do.” He swallowed hard. “I was there on a school trip. You gave us the tour.”
She smiled again that same warm smile that had haunted him for years. “That’s sweet. Most kids don’t even remember those trips.”
“I remember,” Ethan said quietly, and she tilted her head at the intensity in his voice.
Before she could respond, her phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen, her smile dimming just a little.
“I have to go,” she said.
Ethan stepped back, forcing himself to look calm even as something sharp twisted inside him. “Of course.”
He watched her walk out of the café and into the sunlight.
For a moment, Ethan just stood there, staring after her. His fists curled at his sides.
He finally had a name for the girl who had haunted him for ten years.
Maya.
And this time, he wasn’t going to let her disappear.
He pulled out his phone, dialing a number. When his head of security answered, Ethan’s voice was calm, too calm.
“Follow her,” he said.
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- Writer
