The Years Between Us

6. The Key Beneath the Windele Sea

Those eyes never left me after finding me in the middle of the party.

Ezra walked toward me with quiet certainty, without a trace of hesitation. And when the distance between us finally disappeared, he stopped.

The music changed.

Someone stepped onto the small stage at the corner of the rooftop and began playing a piano melody far too melancholic for a birthday celebration. Ezra stood in front of me without saying a word. We simply looked at each other in silence.

For a moment, every other sound seemed to disappear. The laughter of the guests, the clinking glasses, even the night wind curling through the rooftop faded into the background, leaving only the two of us trapped inside something far too intimate to explain.

Why did this hurt so much? And why did my chest tighten more and more as the piano swelled softly through the air?

Then I realized it.

The song. It was one of the tracks from the CD Ezra had given me on my birthday years ago. A collection of his favorite songs.

Listen to these whenever you miss me.

His voice from the past echoed so clearly in my head that it almost felt alive again. The memories surfaced all at once—light and uncontrollable, drifting through me like dandelion seeds caught in the wind.

Some of the guests began slow dancing to the music. Ezra smiled at me. That small smile I knew too well.

There had always been layers hidden inside it. Back then, I never understood why his smiles never fully reached happiness. But now, at least, I understood part of it. They carried pain. And I couldn’t even begin to imagine how much of that pain I had left behind inside him.

“I wish I could ask you to dance,” he said quietly beneath the aching melody.

My eyes burned. I wanted the song to end.

“Ms. Adam.”

Nadine’s voice suddenly broke through the heavy air between us, shattering the fragile stillness.

“Let me introduce you to my friend, Clarisa.” Nadine leaned closer, lowering her voice conspiratorially before winking at me. “I think her boyfriend’s about to propose soon, so I wanted her to meet you.”

I shook Clarisa’s hand and exchanged a few polite words with her. But after that, Nadine continued guiding me around the party, introducing me to her parents, her friends, even several of her family’s business associates.

I started feeling less like a guest and more like something she was proudly displaying to everyone around her. Her chosen wedding dress designer. Nadine made sure everyone knew exactly who I was—and that if they ever planned to get married someday, they absolutely needed to visit Lumiere.

She was genuinely kindhearted. But... wasn’t this a little excessive?

Meanwhile, Ezra remained at a distance.

A glass of wine rested lazily in his right hand while his left stayed tucked inside his pocket. He leaned casually against the rooftop railing, looking calm enough to fool anyone.

Anyone except me. Because his eyes never truly left me.

Eventually, Nadine finally released me long enough to breathe.

I found an empty table near the corner and sat down, slowly sipping the juice in my hand. The night air had started turning cold against my skin. I was only wearing a black satin dress without a coat—mine was still sitting forgotten in the car.

I wanted to go home. But Nadine was still busy entertaining guests, and leaving without saying goodbye felt rude.

My phone vibrated softly. A message from Reina lit up the screen.

Reina: Did you make it?

I had just started typing a reply when a voice startled me from behind.

“Are you enjoying the party?”

I turned quickly. Nadine was already standing beside my chair. Oddly enough, she wasn’t looking at me right away. Her gaze lingered on the glittering city beneath us instead.

“Yes,” I answered softly. “Thank you for inviting me, Ms. Rowe.”

Nadine pulled out the chair beside mine and sat down. This time, when she looked at me, her expression wasn’t nearly as relaxed as usual.

“You can call me Nadine, if you want.”

I frowned slightly, confused. “You’d like that?”

She nodded slowly. “And... would it be alright if I called you Meara?”

Her voice remained gentle, but there was something different underneath it now. Something careful.

“Of course,” I replied after a brief pause. Not because I minded—but because I was trying to understand why this suddenly mattered to her.

“So, Meara...” Nadine traced the rim of her glass absently before looking at me again. “Are you single?”

The question caught me completely off guard. Especially coming from her.

“Why are you asking?”

“Just curious.” She smiled lightly. “I thought you’d come with someone tonight, but you came alone.”

She laughed softly afterward, though the smile felt strangely forced. “I’m just curious,” she repeated.

“I have someone,” I answered at last.

I lifted my hand slightly, showing her the ring resting on my finger.

Something shifted across Nadine’s face. Relief. Pure, overwhelming relief—like a heavy weight had suddenly been lifted from her shoulders, even though she tried to hide it behind an embarrassed little smile.

And yes... technically, I wasn’t lying.

Some people remain yours forever. Not in life. Not in reality. But somewhere inside your heart.

My chest pulsed painfully at the thought, and I found myself twisting the ring unconsciously around my finger just to steady myself.

“I’m sorry,” Nadine said quietly. “That was probably too personal.”

“It’s okay, Nadine.”

She fell silent for a few seconds before looking at me again. “Can I ask one more thing?”

I nodded gently. I wasn’t used to seeing Nadine this subdued.

“What do you think about me and Ezra?”

Without meaning to, my eyes flickered toward Ezra across the rooftop before returning to her. He was still watching us. Still watching me.

“You love him?” I asked quietly.

The smile on her face softened immediately. “Very much,” she answered without hesitation.

“You two...” My throat tightened slightly, forcing me to clear it before continuing. “You seem like the kind of couple that balances each other out, Nadine. You’re bright and warm... and Ezra is calm. Gentle. You’re lucky to have each other.”

I finished with a small smile, hoping my answer would satisfy her.

Nadine’s smile widened, this time reaching all the way to her eyes. “Thank you, Meara.”

She looked down briefly at her drink before continuing. “Sometimes I feel like Ezra keeps part of himself locked away somewhere I can’t reach. Like there’s a box inside him, and the key disappeared a long time ago. But hearing you say that makes me feel a little better.”

I returned her smile weakly. Because I knew exactly which box she was talking about. I was the one who locked it. And fifteen years ago, I threw the key into the bottom of Windele’s sea.

“I should head home soon,” I said quietly, suddenly unable to stay there any longer. “I still have a lot of work to finish on your dress tomorrow.”

“Oh! Of course.” Nadine stood up immediately and hugged me once more. “Sorry for keeping you so long.”

As I started walking toward the elevator, my eyes caught Ezra’s figure again in the distance. And for a split second, everything I’d just told Nadine felt like a complete lie.

The moment Ezra realized I was leaving, he pushed himself away from the railing.

I walked faster toward the elevator, my heartbeat pounding harder and harder with the desperate need to escape the suffocating atmosphere surrounding us.

But just as the elevator doors were about to close on the twentieth floor—

A hand stopped them.

Ezra stood there, breathing slightly unevenly, staring at me with an intensity strong enough to tear apart every wall I had just rebuilt in front of Nadine.