(Ethan's POV)
My world is built on precision. Every minute accounted for, every deal meticulously planned. The glass and steel of Carter Enterprises reflect my philosophy: clean lines, unyielding strength, and absolute control. It's how I've climbed to the top, how I've built an empire from the ground up, and how I've kept the chaos of life at bay. Especially the chaos that comes in the form of emotional entanglements.
My phone buzzed, a stark intrusion in the sterile quiet of my penthouse office. A text from Liam, one of my closest—and most infuriatingly carefree—friends.
Liam: Guess who's back in town?
A flicker of annoyance rippled through me. Liam knew I had a critical merger meeting in an hour. This wasn't the time for his cryptic messages.
Me: If this is another one of your 'hilarious' jokes, I don't have time, Liam.
His reply was immediate.
Liam: Not a joke. Claire's back.
Claire.
Just her name, a simple five letters, was enough to send a ripple through the carefully constructed walls of my composure. Claire Reynolds. Gone for years, a ghost from my past, a reminder of a life I'd buried deep.
I remembered her vividly. A tangle of auburn hair, eyes that sparkled with mischief, and a laugh that could fill a room. We'd been inseparable as kids, two halves of a whole, until she'd left, without a word, without a goodbye. Just...gone.
I pushed the memory away, focusing on the stack of documents on my desk. I had a merger to finalize, a company to run, a life to manage. Claire's return was a distraction I couldn't afford.
The meeting was a blur. My focus, usually laser-sharp, kept drifting. Claire's face, her voice, the way she used to look at me, all those things I had pushed into the deep recesses of my mind, were now resurfacing with a vengeance.
"Ethan?" My COO, Sarah, was looking at me, her brow furrowed. "Are you alright? You seem...distracted."
"I'm fine," I said, my voice clipped. "Just a lot on my mind."
The lie hung in the air, heavy and unconvincing. Sarah knew me too well. She'd been with me from the start, seen me build this company brick by brick. She knew I didn't let anything distract me.
"If you need to postpone, we can," she offered, her voice soft.
"No," I said, my voice firm. "We'll finish this. I don't have time for distractions."
But even as I said the words, I knew they were hollow. Claire's return was a seismic event in my carefully ordered world, a crack in the foundation I'd spent years building.
The meeting ended, and I retreated to my office, the city lights twinkling below, a million tiny stars in the concrete jungle. I stared at my phone, wondering if I should call Liam, ask him where she was, what she was doing. But I didn't. I couldn't.
I wasn't the boy she used to know. I was a man now, a man with responsibilities, a man who didn't have time for ghosts from the past. But deep down, a part of me, a small, vulnerable part, wondered if she'd changed as much as I had.
I opened my laptop, trying to focus on the numbers, the projections, the endless spreadsheets that usually soothed my mind. But all I saw was Claire. Her laughter, her smile, the way she used to look at me like I was the only person in the world.
I closed my laptop, the image of her burned into my mind. I couldn't deny it any longer. Claire's return had disrupted my world, and I had no idea how to put the pieces back together.
(Claire's POV)
Stepping out of the taxi, I took a deep breath, the familiar scent of the city air filling my lungs. Home. After all these years, I was back.
I'd spent years running, building a life far away from the memories that haunted me. But something had pulled me back, an invisible thread tugging at my heart.
The old familiar sites, the coffee shop on the corner, the park where Ethan and I used to play, all those things I had tried to forget, were now vividly present.
I walked towards my old house, the place where I had grown up, where I had been happy, where I had lost everything. It looked smaller than I remembered, the paint peeling, the garden overgrown.
I took out my phone, scrolling through my contacts, my finger hovering over Ethan's name. I hadn't spoken to him in years, not since I'd left without a word. I wondered if he'd even remember me.
I decided against calling him. I wasn't ready to face him yet. I needed time, time to prepare myself for the inevitable confrontation.
I rented a small apartment, a temporary place to stay while I figured out what I was doing here. The city felt both familiar and foreign, like a half-remembered dream.
That night, I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, the city lights casting long shadows across the room. I thought about Ethan, about the boy he used to be, the boy I used to love. I wondered if he'd changed, if he was still the same person I remembered.
I closed my eyes, the memories flooding back, the laughter, the secrets, the unspoken feelings that had always lingered between us. I knew I couldn't avoid him forever. Our paths were destined to cross, and when they did, I wasn't sure either of us would be ready for the consequences.