The Man From the Past
1429 Words
Chapter 4
Emily spent the next two days avoiding Michael completely.
She ignored his calls.
Ignored his messages.
And every time she saw a black luxury car near her workplace, her heart panicked instantly.
But Michael never came inside again.
Part of her felt relieved.
Another part strangely felt disappointed.
Emily hated herself for that.
She stood behind the restaurant counter quietly arranging glasses when her coworker suddenly rushed toward her excitedly.
“Emily!”
Emily looked up.
“What happened?”
“There’s a customer asking for you.”
Emily sighed tiredly.
“If it’s Michael again, tell him I’m busy.”
Her coworker blinked.
“Uh… it’s not Michael.”
Emily frowned slightly before turning around.
And froze instantly.
Samuel Brooks.
Tall.
Warm smile.
Messy brown hair.
The same familiar face she hadn’t seen in almost three years.
“Samuel?” she whispered.
Samuel smiled softly.
“Hey, Em.”
Before Emily realized it, she was already hugging him tightly.
Samuel laughed quietly while hugging her back.
“Wow. I missed you too.”
Emily pulled away quickly, suddenly emotional.
“What are you doing here?”
“I moved back to New York last week.”
Emily looked shocked.
“You left the country.”
“Yeah. London was getting boring.”
Emily smiled for the first time in days.
Samuel had always been easy to talk to.
Safe.
Comfortable.
Unlike Michael, who made her emotions feel dangerous.
Samuel studied her face carefully.
“You don’t look okay.”
Emily’s smile faded slightly.
“I’ve had a rough week.”
Samuel’s expression softened.
“Want to talk about it after your shift?”
Emily hesitated briefly before nodding.
“Okay.”
Neither of them noticed the black car parked across the street.
Or the man inside silently watching everything.
Michael.
His jaw tightened dangerously as he watched Samuel touch Emily’s shoulder gently.
The same Samuel who destroyed everything between them.
Michael gripped the steering wheel harder.
His chest burned with jealousy instantly.
And he hated it.
—
Later that evening…
Emily and Samuel sat inside a quiet diner near the river.
The atmosphere felt peaceful.
Normal.
Something Emily desperately needed.
Samuel smiled while stirring his coffee.
“You still order too much sugar.”
Emily laughed softly.
“And you still notice weird things.”
Samuel shrugged playfully.
“I notice everything about you.”
Emily rolled her eyes jokingly.
For the first time in a long while, she felt relaxed.
But then Samuel’s expression became serious.
“So…”
He leaned forward slightly.
“You saw Michael again, didn’t you?”
Emily froze.
“How do you know?”
Samuel sighed.
“Daniel told me.”
Emily looked down quietly.
“It’s complicated.”
Samuel’s jaw tightened slightly.
“He hurt you badly.”
Emily stayed silent.
Samuel looked guilty suddenly.
“You know… I blamed myself for a long time.”
Emily frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Samuel rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
“That night.”
Emily immediately knew which night he meant.
“The misunderstanding?”
Samuel nodded slowly.
“If I hadn’t hugged you, maybe things would’ve been different.”
Emily sighed softly.
“No. Michael should’ve trusted me.”
Samuel looked down quietly.
Then he said something unexpected.
“I actually punched him once.”
Emily blinked in shock.
“What?!”
Samuel laughed nervously.
“A few weeks after he disappeared.”
Emily stared at him.
“You found him?”
Samuel nodded.
“I was angry. You cried every day because of him.”
Emily’s chest tightened painfully at the memory.
Samuel continued quietly.
“When I confronted him, he looked horrible.”
Emily frowned slightly.
“What do you mean?”
Samuel looked thoughtful.
“Michael looked broken, Emily.”
Her heart betrayed her again at those words.
Samuel sighed.
“I hated him for hurting you… but honestly? He looked like he was destroying himself too.”
Emily looked away quickly.
She didn’t want to feel sympathy for Michael again.
Not after everything.
Samuel suddenly smiled softly.
“But enough about him.”
Emily looked back at him.
Samuel’s eyes became gentler.
“You know… I missed you a lot.”
Emily smiled weakly.
“I missed you too.”
Samuel hesitated briefly before speaking again.
“There’s something I never told you.”
Emily frowned slightly.
“What is it?”
Samuel opened his mouth—
But suddenly someone grabbed his collar violently.
Emily gasped in shock.
Michael.
His eyes burned with rage.
“You stay away from her.”
Samuel immediately pushed him back.
“What the hell is wrong with you?!”
People inside the diner started staring nervously.
Emily stood up quickly.
“Michael, stop!”
But Michael ignored her completely.
“You think I forgot what you did?” he growled.
Samuel looked furious now.
“I did nothing to her!”
Michael laughed coldly.
“You ruined everything.”
Samuel shoved him again.
“No, YOU ruined everything because you were too insecure to trust her!”
The tension exploded instantly.
Michael punched Samuel hard across the face.
Emily screamed.
“Michael!”
Samuel immediately punched him back.
Tables crashed loudly as both men fought violently.
People rushed away in panic.
Emily tried desperately to stop them.
“STOP IT!”
But neither listened.
Years of anger exploded between them.
Michael grabbed Samuel’s shirt aggressively.
“You touched her!”
Samuel glared at him.
“And you abandoned her!”
That sentence hit harder than the punch.
Michael froze for one brief second.
Samuel used the moment to push him away.
Emily stood between them immediately, breathing heavily.
“Enough!”
Both men stared at her silently.
Emily looked furious now.
“I’m not some object for both of you to fight over!”
Michael’s chest rose heavily.
“He’s manipulating you.”
Samuel laughed angrily.
“You really haven’t changed.”
Emily looked emotionally exhausted.
“I can’t do this anymore.”
She grabbed her bag quickly.
“Emily—”
“No.”
Her voice cracked slightly.
“I’m leaving.”
This time neither man stopped her.
They only watched helplessly as she disappeared outside.
—
Rain started falling again by the time Emily reached the street.
Perfect.
It felt like rain followed her life now.
She wiped tears angrily from her face.
Why did Michael always turn everything into chaos?
Why did he still affect her this much?
A car door suddenly closed behind her.
Emily didn’t turn around.
“Go away, Michael.”
Footsteps approached slowly.
But the voice that answered wasn’t Michael’s.
“It’s me.”
Emily turned.
Samuel.
His lip was bleeding slightly.
Emily sighed tiredly.
“You shouldn’t have fought him.”
Samuel smiled bitterly.
“He started it.”
Emily crossed her arms.
“You both acted like children.”
Samuel stayed quiet for a moment before speaking softly.
“He still loves you.”
Emily’s heart tightened painfully.
“I know.”
Samuel looked down briefly.
“And you still love him too.”
Emily didn’t answer.
Because denying it felt impossible now.
Samuel gave a sad smile.
“I always hated that.”
Emily blinked slowly.
“What?”
Samuel looked directly into her eyes.
“The fact that no matter how much he hurt you… your heart still chooses him.”
Emily froze completely.
Samuel exhaled shakily.
“I tried forgetting you for years, Emily.”
Her breath caught instantly.
Oh no.
Samuel laughed quietly, but it sounded painful.
“I guess I failed.”
Emily’s chest tightened with guilt.
“Samuel…”
“I love you.”
The world suddenly felt silent.
Rain continued falling around them softly.
Emily stared at him speechlessly.
Samuel smiled sadly.
“I know your heart belongs to someone else.”
Emily’s eyes filled with tears instantly.
“You’re important to me.”
Samuel nodded slowly.
“But not the way I want.”
Emily hated how much pain she saw in his eyes.
Because Samuel had always been good to her.
Always.
Unlike Michael.
But somehow…
Her heart still chose the wrong man.
Samuel stepped closer gently.
“You deserve someone who won’t break you.”
Emily closed her eyes painfully.
Because deep down…
She feared Michael would break her all over again.
—
Across the street, hidden inside the shadows near his car…
Michael watched everything.
Including Samuel’s confession.
Including Emily’s tears.
And for the first time in years…
Michael truly realized he might lose her forever.
- Writer
