Chapter 4: Shadows of the Past
579 Words
The following Monday arrived with clear skies, but Aria couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to change. The memory of Friday night's coffee with Ethan lingered in her mind throughout the weekend. She had caught herself smiling more than once, something she hadn't done in a long time.
As she walked into Morrison & Hart, Maya noticed the change immediately.
"Okay," Maya said, folding her arms with a playful smile. "Who is he?"
Aria looked up from her desk. "Who is who?"
"The reason you've been smiling since you walked in."
"I'm not smiling."
"You are. And it's suspicious."
Aria laughed, shaking her head. "I just had coffee with a client."
"Sure," Maya teased. "And I'm the Queen of England."
Before Aria could reply, Daniel stepped into the office.
"Conference room in five minutes. Ethan Blake wants to discuss the campaign."
The meeting was productive, with everyone exchanging ideas for the new advertising campaign. Ethan listened carefully, occasionally adding suggestions that impressed the team. Despite his calm demeanor, Aria noticed something different about him. He seemed distracted, as though part of his mind was somewhere else.
After the meeting, Ethan lingered behind.
"Do you have a minute?" he asked.
"Of course."
"I wanted to thank you again for the other night."
"You've thanked me enough already."
"I'm not talking about the coffee." He smiled faintly. "I'm talking about reminding me what normal feels like."
His words caught her off guard.
"What do you mean?"
Ethan looked away for a moment.
"Sometimes life gets... complicated."
Before Aria could ask what he meant, his phone rang again.
He frowned at the screen but answered immediately.
"I'm on my way," he said before ending the call.
"I'm sorry," he told Aria. "Something urgent has come up."
She nodded, watching him leave the office at a hurried pace.
That evening, Ethan drove across the city to a private hospital.
The bright white corridors felt colder than usual.
He stopped outside Room 312 before quietly opening the door.
An elderly woman lay asleep, her breathing slow but steady.
His mother.
For months she had been battling a serious heart condition, and despite the doctors' best efforts, her health continued to decline. Ethan had kept her illness a secret from almost everyone, fearing that sympathy would distract him from finding a way to save her.
A doctor entered the room moments later.
"Mr. Blake," he said gently, "your mother's condition is becoming more critical. We recommend scheduling the surgery as soon as possible."
Ethan swallowed hard.
"What are her chances?"
"If everything goes well, the outlook is good. But delaying much longer increases the risk."
He nodded silently.
As the doctor walked away, Ethan looked at his sleeping mother.
"I promise," he whispered. "I'll do whatever it takes."
Across town, Aria stood by the large window of her apartment, watching the city lights sparkle below. She couldn't stop thinking about Ethan's expression before he rushed away.
He had said it was work.
She knew it wasn't.
There had been fear in his eyes.
And fear wasn't something people could hide forever.
Without realizing it, she found herself hoping he was okay.
Neither of them knew that the walls they had built around their hearts were beginning to crack.
But as one secret waited to be revealed, another was quietly making its way back into Aria's life.
Someone from her past had returned to New York.
And this time, he wasn't coming to apologize.
- Writer
