Almost Yours

Chapter 7: The Smile That Fades

📖 Chapter 7: The Weight of Time

From that day on, the office felt different — quieter, heavier, as if those two simple words had settled into every corner of the building. Eight years. Renesmee repeated it to herself whenever she caught herself watching him — when he laughed at something a colleague said, when he helped carry heavy boxes without being asked, when he sat at his desk with that faraway, loving look before answering her call. Eight years meant roots so deep they could never be pulled up. It meant promises kept through every season, every hardship, every quiet ordinary day.

And yet, she noticed something else too — something small and unspoken. When he spoke of Ela now, there was a pause before her name, a hesitation that hadn’t been there before. He still took his calls at noon and six, still spoke softly into the receiver — but his smile didn’t reach his eyes quite as brightly. Sometimes he would end a conversation and sit perfectly still for several minutes, staring at nothing at all, as if turning something over in his mind that he couldn’t quite make sense of.

One afternoon, when most of the staff had stepped out for coffee, Renesmee found herself alone with him in the quiet office. He was staring at his phone — not at a message, but at his lock screen — that same beautiful photo of Ela, smiling with that dimple in her cheek. He didn’t look happy. He looked… troubled.

“She’s lovely,” Renesmee said quietly, breaking the silence before she could stop herself. “Truly. You’re very lucky.”

Arvee looked up, startled, then slowly lowered the device to the desk. “Yes,” he said, but his voice lacked its usual warmth. “She is.”

“Eight years is such a long time,” Renesmee went on, her heart aching but her words steady. “Most people don’t even make it eight months anymore. You must have something truly special.”

Arvee was quiet for a long moment, his gaze drifting toward the window where rain had begun to streak the glass. “We do,” he said softly. “Or… we did. But eight years is also a lot of time to change. To grow into different people without even noticing. Sometimes I wonder… if the people we were when we started are still the ones standing here now.”

Renesmee stood frozen, those words hanging in the air between them like mist. She wanted to ask more — to understand what had shifted — but she bit her tongue. She had no right to dig deeper. She was the outsider looking in. The one who shouldn’t even be hoping for a c***k in the foundation.