Forever mine

Episode Ten – The Price Of The Past

The rain in Paris that night was relentless, tapping against the tall office windows like an impatient visitor. Eliana stayed behind after everyone had left, adjusting the hemline of a crimson evening gown on the mannequin. The storm outside felt safer than the storm inside Étoile Modélés.

She didn’t hear Bryan enter until his reflection appeared in the glass.

“You’re still here,” he said quietly.

Eliana didn’t look at him. “The gown needed fixing.”

“You’re avoiding me,” he said, stepping closer.

She gave a small, humorless laugh. “Avoiding you? No. I’m just… making sure I can survive here without my name being dragged through the mud every other day.”

Bryan’s voice softened. “I told you, I’ll handle Kim.”

“But that’s not the problem, Bryan.” Eliana turned, her eyes meeting his. “The problem is everyone knows we have history, but no one knows what happened. And the way things ended between us… it wasn’t exactly clean.”

He studied her, and for a moment, his polished CEO façade cracked. “You think I don’t remember?”

The room felt smaller now, the air heavier.

“Eliana, that night at Oxford—”

“Don’t,” she cut in sharply. “You walked away without even hearing me out. And then you disappeared. Months of silence. I had to find out from other people that you’d left for Paris.”

His jaw tightened. “And you think I left because I didn’t care?”

“What else was I supposed to think?”

Bryan took a deep breath, as though bracing himself. “The night we fought… my father collapsed. Heart attack. They called me from the hospital while we were in the middle of that stupid argument. I didn’t even have time to explain — I just left. And when I got to Paris, his health kept spiraling. I didn’t want to drag you into the chaos, so I… stayed away.”

Eliana’s lips parted, but no words came out. She’d built years of resentment on a story that was missing half the truth.

“You could have told me,” she whispered finally.

“I know,” Bryan said, stepping closer. “But by the time I thought about reaching out, you’d already moved on. At least… that’s what I thought.”

A silence stretched between them, full of the weight of years they’d lost. Outside, the rain softened, as though the city itself was listening.

Bryan reached for her hand but stopped just short, hovering in the space where skin meets possibility. “I never stopped thinking about you, Eliana.”

She pulled back gently, heart racing. “You don’t get to say that now and expect me to forget everything.”

“I’m not asking you to forget,” he said. “I’m asking you to let me make it right.”

Eliana didn’t answer. Instead, she turned back to the gown, threading her needle with deliberate care. But the truth was already stitching its way into her heart, piece by piece.