Letters I Never Sent

After the Storm

The event had ended. The lights dimmed, the guests left, and only a few staff remained packing up.

Samantha stood near the balcony, looking out at the city below. The breeze brushed her cheeks, but her chest still burned from everything that happened. Marco. The insults. Enzo’s words.

“Hey,” came his voice, softer now. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted company.”

She turned to see him approaching, tie loosened, jacket draped over one shoulder. His eyes were gentle, and tonight, they weren’t clouded by pain or pressure. They were… calm.

“I’m glad you said something,” she said. “I didn’t expect you to step in like that.”

“I didn’t plan to,” he admitted. “But hearing him talk to you like that—like you were nothing—something in me just… snapped.”

She smiled, but it was quiet. Thoughtful. “No one’s ever defended me like that before.”

Enzo stepped closer, hands in his pockets. “You deserve to be defended. Especially from people who never saw your worth in the first place.”

They stood in silence, side by side, watching the city below sparkle.

But across the room, hidden behind a tall column, someone else was watching them.

Selene.

The ex-girlfriend.

The woman who had been with Enzo for seven years… and left him for a younger, flashier co-worker. But tonight, when she saw him speak so softly to Samantha— when she saw how he looked at her, not with anger or bitterness, but with tenderness —something flared in her chest. It wasn’t guilt.

It was envy.

The way Enzo asked Samantha if she was okay? How he listened?

The way he stood beside her, unshaken?

That was the Enzo she once had. And now, it looked like someone else was waking him up.

Later that night, back in her car, Selene made a call. “Hello?” a voice answered.

“I want a full background check on someone,” she said coldly.

“Name?”

“Samantha Elise Dela Cruz. She works at Horizon & Co.” “What am I looking for?”

“Anything that makes her look like she doesn’t belong with Enzo Alvarado.”

Chapter Eight: Closer Than Before

Samantha had started to feel it—a shift in the office. The stares.

The whispers.

The emails that suddenly didn’t reach her.

The minor “errors” in her project files that she never made.

At first, she thought she was overthinking. But when a message meant for the client was mysteriously “replaced” with a corrupted version, and she got blamed—she knew something was wrong.

Enzo noticed her growing quiet, more withdrawn than usual.

“You okay?” he asked one afternoon as they were reviewing final layouts.

She hesitated. “Some weird things have been happening. I don’t know if I’m just tired or if… someone’s trying to sabotage me.”

Enzo’s expression darkened, eyes narrowing with concern. “You should’ve told me sooner.”

“I didn’t want to sound paranoid.”

He leaned forward, voice firm. “Sam, someone once said I should’ve paid more attention. I won’t make that mistake again.”

She looked at him—really looked—and saw the weight behind his words.

Meanwhile, in a glossy café uptown, Selene sat across from her now ex-boyfriend. The breakup was clean, cold, and emotionless.

Because her focus was no longer on him. It was on getting Enzo back.

She had seen the way he looked at Samantha. And it infuriated her. He had never defended her like that publicly. Never softened his voice that way. Never chose her with such quiet certainty.

So that same evening, she appeared uninvited at Horizon & Co., standing at the private elevator with a bouquet of white calla lilies—his favorite.

The receptionist blinked. “Ma’am, you’re not on the appointment list.”

“I know. Tell Enzo it’s Selene. He’ll understand.”

He did not.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Enzo said when he finally met her at the lobby, his voice low but sharp.

Selene tilted her head. “Enzo, I made a mistake. I miss you. Us.”

“Us?” he repeated, coldly. “You mean the version of me you didn’t want anymore?”

“I didn’t realize what I lost until—”

“Until you saw me happy with someone else?”

Selene flinched. “She’s not right for you.”

“You don’t know her,” he snapped. “And that’s what makes her different from you—she sees me for who I really am.”

He turned, about to leave, when Selene grabbed his arm. “Please. Just one dinner. One conversation.”

Enzo shook his head. “I don’t go backward, Selene. Especially not when I’ve finally found peace.”

That same night, Enzo showed up at the design floor unexpectedly. Samantha looked up, surprised. “You’re still here?”

He smiled. “Couldn’t sleep. Thought I’d check on someone who matters.”

She felt something stir in her chest at those words. He walked over, handed her a drink.

“Let’s finish this campaign strong,” he said.

Together, they sat—shoulders brushing, silence comfortable, hearts steady. Outside the glass windows, the city lights flickered like stars.

And inside, something was beginning to shine even brighter between them.