bChapter /bb207 /b

    Mia had to hide. Panic shot through her body, and her first instinct was to grab the closest thing her hands could find.

    She snatched up a magazine from a desk in the waiting area and rushed toward the wall on the far side of the lobby. Pressing herself against it, she opened the pages and held them up in front of her face as if she was deeply lost in it.

    idiot.

    breathing was ragged. She prayed no one would pay attention to why she’s standing like this and facing the wall like a freaking

    She had been expecting something like this to happen. She knew it was inevitable. This was hispany.

    Of course, she would cross paths with him sooner orter. But knowing it wasing and being ready for it were two very different things.

    Her heart pounded hard in her chest.

    She was scared. Terrified.

    Yet at the same time, there was a pull inside her towards him.

    A deep aching curiosity that screamed for her to look back. To see what Alex ckwell looked like now.

    “Good morning, sir.”

    The lobby filled with voices as the employees greeted him with respect.

    Mia froze, clutching the magazine tighter. The room suddenly felt smaller, suffocating.

    “Mr. Lowell, a minute please,i” /ia man’s voice called out.

    Her eyes closed instantly, as if shutting them would protect her from the sound that was about to hit her.

    And then it came.

    “What is it, Mr. Krish?”

    Her heart jumped so violently at the sound of his voice that the magazine almost slipped from her hands.

    She knows that voice. She had memorized it, dreamed of it, prayed to forget it.

    It was deeper now, moremanding.

    But beneath it, she could still hear that voice, the one that had once whispered her name on her lip, who had onceughed freely

    with her.

    Her eyes slid closed. A single tear broke free. She didn’t even bother to wipe it away.

    God, she missed him. Missed him so much.

    Her heart screamed at her to turn around. Just one look. Just one nce. That’s all. See him once more. See what four years has done to him. See if the man you loved still exists inside the face of the man he is today

    But Mia resisted. Begging herself not to move. Her eyes stayed shut

    “Why was this not submitted yesterday?”

    Alex’s voice again. Firm, clipped, full of authority.

    Mia’s breath quickened, and her knees nearly buckled beneath her.

    The longing in her chest swelled painfully, overwhelming her with memories she had fought so hard to bury.

    The longing for the man she had loved with her life. The man she had given everything to. The only man she had ever loved.

    The man who didn’t even bother to look for her, it was so easy for him to move on.

    She tried to remind herself of the years that had passed, the nights she had cried alone, the promises she had made to herself to move on. She had told herself over and over that she didn’t love him anymore, that whatever they had was gone.

    But standing here, with his voice just a few steps away, all of those lies she had built to protect herself crumbled.

    She still loved him. Against every reason, against every wound, against every tear, her heart still belonged to Alex ckwell.

    Mia You fool!

    “Take it to the meeting today,i” /ihe said firmly, and his footsteps began to fade as he walked away.

    Mia’s grip on the magazine weakened. Her body trembled as if it had just survived a storm, though it had only been seconds. Seconds of his presence, seconds of hearing his voice again..

    And yet it was enough to shatter her.

    But she didn’t move.

    She couldn’t.

    Every part of her screamed ito /irun home, to get away from here before she destroyed herself even more. She shouldn’t even bother going back inside

    This job, this opportunity, it was nothingpared to the wreckage that would follow if she allowed herself to be near him again.

    Mia knows she will fall into his arms like the fucking idiot she is for him.

    Meanwhile, Alex was already regretting why he employed some people.

    He stood in thepany lobby, his jaw tight, staring at the file Mr. Krish had shoved into his hands. His head was pounding. Too many problems, too many faces, too much noise. He couldn’t do this right now.

    “Take it to the meeting tomorrow,” he muttered, his voice firm but tired.

    Mr. Krish gave a small nod and left quickly, as if he could sense Alex’s irritation.

    Alex let out a long breath, pressing the bridge of his nose with his fingers. He wanted to shake everything off, wanted to step into the elevator and vanish to his private floor, away from all of this chaos.

    But then… something caught his eye.

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    bf11 /b

    $12

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    home

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    pg up

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    11:48 Fri, 22 Aug 0.

    At the far end of the lobby, a woman stood facing the wall. Her posture was strange, stiff…. People moved past her without a nce, but Alex’s eyes locked on her..

    Why on earth was she facing the wall?

    That wasn’t even the part that pulled his attention. Something about the shape of her shoulders, the way her hair fell… It looked familiar. Too familiar.

    His chest tightened. He shook his head quickly, brushing it off.

    He adjusted his suit jacket, turned his gaze away, and started walking toward his private elevator.

    Then his phone buzzed.

    He pulled it out, nced at the screen, and his stomach sank. Zoe again.

    She had called himst night, out of the blue. Told him she was in Singapore.

    He had been shocked. Shocked, but not exactly surprised. Zoe has been talking about how she wants them to be friends again. How she wants to see him.

    They used to be best friends before they became lovers.

    And after what happened with Zoe’s father, losing hispany, his assets, everything….Alex couldn’t deny it. She would probably need someone to talk to.

    That was the only reason he had tried to pick her calls when she kept calling. Only that.

    But hering here? To his life again?

    That felt like too much. Too far.

    He stepped into the elevator, the doors sliding shut.

    Zoe was a part of his past. A past he had worked hard to bury.

    A past he didn’t want to get entangled with again.