The Night He Came Home

Chapter 5 – Before Everything Changed

After Benjamin's call, I didn't start the car right away. I couldn't even if I had wanted to. I had to make sense of everything that I was feeling for the sake of my sanity. I sat there for a long moment, my phone still in my hand, staring through the windshield.

All my thoughts were jumbled up ... the more I tried to rationalise them... the more confused I felt.

Benjamin’s deep, husky voice kept replaying in my mind.

The way he said my name. The calm tone in his voice. It all felt strange… and somehow impossible to ignore.

The last thing I expected was to hear from him again.

"Did the interview go well?"

A very simple question. But I still stammered over my words when I answered him. Even long after the conversation ended, I kept thinking about it—the way he had asked. Something about it felt like it meant more than the words themselves. That simple question just made me realize how much I so missed being cared for.

I had been calling Thomas for weeks now, leaving messages and sending texts, despite the emotional and tear-jerking messages, pleading with him to respond to me; Thomas didn't reply. Not once had he inquired how I was doing. I knew he was all right because his i********: page was always being updated.

Not even once had he inquired about the twins, his own biological children. This neglect and silence hit hard.

And yet, somehow unbelievably, the man I had met twice seemed to be more interested in my day than the man I had married.

I leaned back slightly against the seat and let out a slow breath with questions filling my mind again.... How did I find myself here?

My thoughts suddenly drifted backward—to a time before everything got complicated.

A period when I was a completely different person.

Before Thomas.

Before marriage.

Before motherhood.

Before this quiet life that had slowly chipped away at my confidence.

I closed my eyes for a moment and allowed my mind to reminisce.

Back then, my life felt like it was moving forward. Really moving. There were so many possibilities—promotions to chase, new chances opening up, and that quiet feeling that something bigger was waiting just around the corner. I worked at a mid-sized consulting firm — not the most famous company in the city, not the flashiest either, but I loved it. I loved how busy it was, the deadlines, the pressure. I loved the fast pace, the deadlines, and the feeling of helping build something meaningful, which made every day feel alive with purpose.

Things were starting to fall in place for the first time at my twenty-six years of age.

My manager had started putting me on bigger projects and giving me more responsibility. I was closing late most evenings — not because anyone asked me to, but because I actually wanted to.

At this period, my career was truly beginning to take shape as I envisaged.

I also had my own apartment, small but bright, with a tiny terrace. On it, two stubborn plants survived my forgetful care, thriving against all odds .

Even though my life was just simple, it was mine. And I loved it!!

And valued the independent woman I was becoming.

Ambitious and Aspiring

Independent and Confident

Then December of that faithful year came along. Every year, the company hosted a themed gala. It was the one night in the year when everyone had fun - staff and clients alike. Ties came loose, laughter got louder, and all the usual office politics were set aside for the evening. For that one night, we were just simple people who came together to have fun.

That year's theme was silver glamour.

That night, the ballroom was beautifully decorated and bathed in big, gigantic silver disco balls and silver and white balloons. The music was loud. The ambience was fun and relaxed.

I recollect standing near the bar with one of my associates, Aisha, laughing about something ridiculous our manager had said during the annual speech.

“You know,” she said, poking me with her elbow, “you’re going to be promoted next year.”

I laughed out loud.

“ Hmnnnn, You say that every time.”

“Yes... and this time I really mean it.”

Before I had a chance to respond, someone approached from behind her.

"Mind if I join you?”

The voice was deep, confident.

Aisha turned around first and broke into a wide grin.

“Thomas!”

I looked past her shoulder and saw him.

He was tall, with greyish brown hair and the most striking turquoise colored eyes I had ever seen. He was well dressed, and the way he carried himself had a quiet, almost royal confidence that made him stand out the moment you noticed him.

Aisha stepped away.

“Tonia, this is Thomas. He’s a friend of my colleague Daniel.”

Thomas grinned at me.

“Hello, nice to meet you.”

His handshake was strong, his gaze steady.

Something about him was… enchanting.

...Well..that’s what I thought back then.

We started talking.

At first, it was casual—inquiries about work, jokes about the overly formal company speeches, comments about the music.

But someway the discussion lasted longer than I expected.

He was fascinating..

That was the first thing I observed.

The second thing was how carefully he listened when I spoke.

At one point in our discussion, he asked what position I was in the company.

“I work in project coordination,” I said.

“That sounds serious.”

“It’s mostly arranging and ordering chaos,” I joked.

He laughed.

“Well, I'm pretty sure you must be really good at it.”

“ Hmnnn, why do you say that?”

"Because you speak with confidence. You also look like someone who knows exactly what she's doing."

I remember that comment going straight to my head. Something about the way he said it... so casual, so certain — made me stand just a little taller without even realising it.

Back then, I kind of believed it too. I was unstoppable!!

The night continued like that.

Talking.

Laughing.

Dancing the two times Aisha pulled me onto the dance floor.

By the end of the evening, Thomas had asked for my number. I didn't hesitate for even a second — I just took his phone and typed it in without thinking twice. Looking back now, that was the moment everything changed. The turning point I never saw coming, because at the time it didn’t look like one.

It felt small. Ordinary. Just a man asking for a number after a nice conversation at a party.

That was all it seemed like.

Or so I thought.

Nothing dramatic.

Nothing life-changing.

At least, that’s what I believed in then.

Opening my eyes once again and gazing through my windshield.. Everywhere looked just like the same as it had ten minutes before I drifted into my thoughts.

But inside my mind, the past felt nearer than ever.

I missed the woman I used to be.

The woman who believed her career would keep rising.

The woman who believed she had absolute control over her life.

Somewhere along the way, that woman had slowly faded and vanished away.

Marriage had changed things.

Motherhood had changed things.

Thomas had changed things.

But sitting there in the car, thinking about the interview, thinking about the strange reappearance of Benjamin in my life, something unanticipated stirred inside me.

Perhaps that woman was not completely gone.

Perhaps she had just been staying still… for the chance to come back.