( told from third person’s pov)

Monday mornings at Parallex HQ always moved fast.

Phones rang nonstop across the floor, keyboards clicked in uneven rhythms, and assistants hurried from office to office carrying folders and coffee cups like the entire building would collapse if they slowed down for even a second.

Ethan stepped out of the elevator with a tired sigh, adjusting the cuff of his sleeve as he walked.

His car was still at the mechanic, so he’d been forced to take a cab that morning. Between the traffic and a driver who somehow managed to hit every red light in Harrington, he was already twenty minutes behind schedule.

A young assistant hurried toward him with a tablet pressed against her chest.

"Good morning, sir."

"Morning," Ethan replied, loosening his tie slightly. "Please tell me the world isn’t on fire already."

She laughed nervously.

"Not yet, sir. But we do have a new client waiting in your office."

Ethan slowed a little. "This early?"

"Yes, sir. They arrived about thirty minutes ago."

"Alright." He exhaled through his nose and straightened his tie properly this time. "Thanks."

As he walked toward his office, he mentally prepared himself for another demanding corporate client. Probably another executive who wanted ten different concepts by tomorrow morning while pretending deadlines were just "creative suggestions."

He pushed the office door open while speaking.

"Sorry I’m late—"

The words died in his throat.

The woman seated across from his desk looked up at the exact same moment.

For a second, neither of them moved.

Then—

"Susan?"

"Ethan?"

Shock hit both of them at once.

"Oh my God," Ethan laughed out in disbelief.

Susan stood immediately, smiling so wide it almost looked unreal after all these years.

"Wow," she said softly. "You actually look the same."

Ethan let out another stunned laugh before pulling her into a quick awkward hug.

It lasted barely two seconds, but it carried years inside it.

When they pulled apart, Ethan finally got a proper look at her.

Her hair was shorter now, resting just above her shoulders in soft curls. She wore a fitted beige coat over a black blouse and dark trousers, professional but still very... Susan. Even in college she had always known how to make simple things look elegant.

And her smile—

Yeah.

That smile hadn’t changed at all.

"You look good," she said, looking him over. "Corporate life suits you."

Ethan rubbed the back of his neck with a grin. "I was literally about to say the same thing."

"It’s been a while."

"Three years," Ethan said.

"Three years and... four months," she corrected jokingly.

He blinked.

"You counted?"

"No," she said immediately. "Absolutely not."

They both laughed.

God... this felt strange.

Not bad.

Just strange.

Seeing Susan again felt like opening a room in his mind he had locked a long time ago.

"So," Ethan said as they finally sat down, "how’ve you been?"

Susan leaned back in her chair.

"I’ve been good. Busy mostly. Moving around a lot." She shrugged lightly. "You know how life gets."

"Yeah."

"What about you?" she asked. "You seem to be doing pretty well for yourself these days."

Ethan smiled faintly.

"I’m trying."

"No," she said honestly, glancing around the office. "Seriously. Look at this place. Last time I saw you, you were living off instant noodles and caffeine."

"I still do that sometimes."

"Good," she nodded. "Stay humble."

He laughed.

For a moment, the years between them disappeared completely.

Then Ethan remembered why she was there.

"So," he said, leaning forward slightly, "you’re the client?"

Susan nodded.

"Galactic Entertainment."

Ethan’s eyebrows lifted immediately.

"Wait... Galactic Entertainment?"

"The one and only."

"Damn." Ethan whistled softly. "That’s huge."

Susan gave a proud little smile.

"I’m a market research analyst there now."

"Wow."

"Yeah, I know." She grinned. "I sound important when I say it fast."

Ethan shook his head in disbelief.

"Galactic is one of the biggest production companies in the state."

"Our bosses met at some rich-people golf event," Susan explained. "Apparently they bonded over expensive watches and taxes or something."

Ethan laughed.

"And now you’re here."

"And now I’m here." She nodded toward him. "I was told Parallex HQ would assign their best designer to our campaign."

Ethan leaned back dramatically.

"Well, whoever that guy is, I hope he shows up soon."

Susan rolled her eyes immediately.

"Still annoying. Good to know nothing changed."

He smiled.

God... he forgot how easy talking to her used to be.

The meeting shifted naturally into work after that.

Susan explained the campaign Galactic was preparing — a sci-fi thriller series launching in winter — and Ethan walked her through branding concepts, digital rollout ideas, promotional aesthetics, and event flyer directions.

But between work conversations, pieces of the past kept slipping in.

Old jokes.

College memories.

Little things only the two of them would remember.

At one point Susan laughed so hard at one of Ethan’s stories that she had to wipe tears from her eyes.

"You still ramble when you’re nervous," she pointed out.

"I do not."

"You do."

"I literally don’t."

"You just explained a poster concept for seven minutes straight."

"That was passion."

"That was fear."

They both laughed again.

And somewhere during all that laughter, Ethan caught himself staring at her.

Not in a romantic way.

At least... he didn’t think so.

It was more like seeing someone who used to belong to an important part of your life.

Someone tied to memories you never truly threw away.

By the time the contract was signed, evening had already settled outside the office windows.

Susan stood, gathering her documents.

"Well," she said softly, "this was nice."

"Yeah," Ethan admitted. "It really was."

There was a small pause between them.

Not awkward.

Just thoughtful.

Then Susan smiled again.

"You know," she said, "back in college... I always knew you’d end up somewhere like this."

Ethan looked at her quietly.

"You used to say that all the time," he said.

"Because it was true."

He chuckled lightly.

Back then, whenever he doubted himself, Susan had always been there pushing him forward.

Even when he was broke.

Even when he thought his designs weren’t good enough.

Even when he wanted to quit.

She had believed in him before anybody else did.

And suddenly, without warning, the memories came rushing back.

Not the good ones.

The painful ones.

Felix disappearing.

The investigation.

Everything falling apart after that.

By the time Ethan got home later that night, exhaustion sat heavy on his shoulders.

He tossed his keys onto the table and loosened his tie slowly as silence filled the apartment.

But his mind kept drifting back to Susan.

To college.

To how everything ended between them.

He leaned against the kitchen counter and closed his eyes.

And just like that—

The past pulled him under.

_______________________&&&&&_&&&____________________________________________________________

Back then, Felix’s disappearance had shaken the entire campus.

At first everyone thought he had simply left town.

But then the police found his passport still in his apartment.

That changed everything.

Because no one leaves the country without their passport.

Not willingly.

The investigation became serious after that.

The police started questioning everyone connected to Felix — classmates, friends, neighbors, professors.

Then eventually they searched the dorms too.

Including Susan’s.

Including Himari’s.

And that was when everything started breaking apart.

Ethan still remembered the look on Susan’s face when campus security pulled Felix’s phone out of one of her bags.

Confusion.

Fear.

Shock.

"I swear I’ve never seen that before," she kept saying.

But the police questioned her for hours anyway.

And after that... nothing between them felt normal anymore.

At first Ethan tried to support her.

Really tried.

But Susan became distant.

Suspicious.

Constantly anxious.

And Ethan himself was stressed too. Between the investigation, Felix missing, and the pressure around campus, everything felt heavy.

Then somehow...

Himari became the one person he could actually talk to.

It happened naturally.

Too naturally.

One afternoon after class, Ethan had run into her near the arts building.

"How’s Susan?" he asked carefully.

Himari adjusted the books in her arms before answering.

"She’s okay," she said softly. "Trying to be."

Ethan sighed tiredly.

"I don’t even know what to do anymore."

Himari looked at him quietly for a moment.

Then she said something simple.

"She’s scared, Ethan."

That was it.

No accusations.

No pressure.

No drama.

Just understanding.

And for some reason... that made talking to her easy.

After that, they started speaking more often.

Sometimes between classes.

Sometimes during lunch.

Sometimes after lectures when Ethan needed someone to vent to.

Himari listened.

Really listened.

When Ethan talked about Susan, she never insulted her.

When he got frustrated, she calmed him down.

When he doubted the relationship, she encouraged him to fix it instead of giving up.

"You love her," she told him once while they walked across campus together. "So stop acting stubborn and go talk to her properly."

And he did.

He got back together with Susan after that.

For a while, things actually improved.

But then...

The jealousy started.

At first it was small things.

Susan getting upset whenever Ethan mentioned Himari.

Susan getting irritated when class projects paired them together.

Susan going quiet anytime Ethan spent too much time around her.

Then the arguments started happening more often.

One day Himari bought Ethan a pen set for his birthday.

Nothing expensive.

Just a thoughtful gift.

Susan snapped and broke it in half during an argument.

That was the first time Ethan truly got angry.

"What is happening to you lately?" he had asked her.

Susan looked hurt immediately.

"You don’t see it, Ethan."

"See what?"

"She wants you."

"That’s ridiculous."

"No it isn’t!"

"She’s your friend!"

"She used to be!"

The fights got worse after that.

And somehow Ethan kept drifting more toward Himari because being around her felt... easier.

Calmer.

He felt understood around her.

Meanwhile every conversation with Susan started turning into another argument.

Then one night everything exploded.

Susan stood in the middle of his dorm room crying while Ethan stared at her in disbelief.

"You need to stay away from her," Susan said desperately.

"Why?"

"Because something is wrong with her!"

Ethan’s frustration finally boiled over.

"Himari, Himari, Himari!" he snapped. "That’s all you ever talk about now!"

"Because you don’t see what she’s doing!"

"And what exactly is she doing, Susan?! Being nice to me?"

"She wants you all to herself!"

"That’s insane!"

"No it’s not!"

Ethan dragged a hand through his hair angrily.

"What happened to you?" he asked quietly. "What happened to the girl I fell in love with?"

Susan’s expression broke instantly.

"It’s still me," she whispered. "Ethan, please... just trust me."

But by then he was too angry to listen.

He walked out while she kept calling after him.

And he never looked back.

Not that night.

Not the next day either.

Even when she waited outside his class crying and apologizing.

Even when she followed him across campus begging him to listen.

He had ignored her.

Because at the time...

He genuinely believed she was wrong.

Back in the present, Ethan opened his eyes slowly.

The apartment was quiet again.

But now his chest felt heavy.

Seeing Susan today had reopened memories he hadn’t touched in years.

And for the first time in a long while...

He found himself wondering whether things had really happened the way he remembered them.