One year later, the city greeted the morning with its usual restless energy. Cars filled the streets with impatient honking, people moved quickly along the sidewalks with purpose, and the scent of coffee lingered in the air like a constant companion.
Everything felt alive, busy, and ordinary.
And yet, my thoughts were anything but.
I walked past rows of towering buildings, my bag resting against my shoulder, trying to focus on the present.
I should have been thinking about work, about deadlines, about the article I needed to submit. Instead, my mind drifted back to him, just like it always did when I let my guard down.
Xavier Steel.
Even after a year, the memory of that night remained clear. The way he had looked at me, like he already knew more than he should.
That calm confidence, that irritating smirk that seemed permanently etched on his face. I had tried to push it aside, to bury it under work and routine, but it never truly went away.
"Amelia, wait up!"
Beth's voice pulled me back to reality. I slowed my pace as she jogged toward me, slightly out of breath but visibly excited, her phone clutched tightly in her hand like it held something precious.
"I have news," she said, her eyes shining.
"Big news."
I raised an eyebrow, giving her a look that clearly said I was not easily impressed. "You said that last year," I replied. "And it turned out to be nothing worth the drama."
As the words left my mouth, a memory
surfaced unexpectedly.
That night. The café parking lot. Xavier.
I quickly pushed the thought away.
Beth waved her hand dismissively. "No, this time it's different. This is actually big." She lifted her phone as if presenting evidence.
"Jacob finally asked me out. And I mean properly this time. No games. No confusion. He's serious."
A small smile tugged at my lips despite myself. "Finally," I said. "I was starting to think he would never get there."
Beth laughed, clearly pleased. "Do you know how long it took? Ten months, Amelia. Ten whole months of subtle flirting, mixed signals, and unnecessary tension."
She paused briefly, her expression softening just a little. "After everything with Kale… I wasn't even sure I wanted to try again. But Jacob was patient. He waited."
I glanced at her, catching the quiet honesty in her tone. The breakup with Kale had not been dramatic, but it had left its mark.
Beth had hidden it well, throwing herself into distractions, pretending she was fine even when she clearly was not. Seeing her like this now, lighter, hopeful again, made something ease in my chest.
"And now," she continued, her smile returning, "he's all in. He said he wants something real."
"I'm happy for you," I said honestly, and I meant it. Beth deserved that kind of certainty. She had always been fearless when it came to love, willing to take risks even after things fell apart.
Still, a small, quiet part of me could not help making comparisons.
Her life seemed to be falling neatly into place, while mine felt unpredictable. No relationship, no emotional stability, just unanswered questions and the lingering presence of a man I barely understood but could not forget.
Before I could dwell on it any further, a sudden disturbance down the street caught our attention.
A crowd had gathered outside a tall, modern building, their voices blending into a low hum of curiosity and excitement. The glass exterior reflected the sunlight, making the company logo gleam boldly.
Steel Enterprises.
My steps slowed immediately, a strange tension settling in my chest.
Of course it had to be his company.
I should have walked away. I knew that. But curiosity had always been my weakness, and being a journalist had only made it worse.
Instinctively, I moved closer, weaving through the edge of the crowd, my focus sharpening.
And then I saw him.
Xavier stood at the entrance, stepping out through the revolving doors as though the entire building existed to frame him.
He was surrounded by assistants and security, but somehow, he remained the center of attention. His presence was impossible to ignore.
He looked exactly the same. If anything, more composed, more powerful.
His gaze moved across the crowd, calm and controlled, missing nothing.
And then, without warning, his eyes met mine.
Everything inside me stilled.
For a brief second, the noise around me faded into the background. My heart skipped, my breath catching in a way I could not control.
And then he smiled.
Not a full smile, just a slight curve of his lips, subtle but deliberate. It was enough to send a rush of awareness through me.
He remembered.
Of course he did.
"Stay focused," I whispered under my breath, forcing myself to look away. "He's just another story.
Just another name."
But even I did not believe that.
Later that day, I found myself sitting in Beth's apartment, surrounded by scattered papers and the soft glow of our laptop screens.
The place felt warm and familiar, a sharp contrast to the tension that had followed me all day.
Beth leaned back in her chair, sipping her coffee while watching me with an expression that told me she was already reading my thoughts.
"So," she said casually, "what's the plan? Are you going to avoid him completely, or are you going to do your job and follow the story?"
I stared at the screen in front of me, my fingers hovering over the keyboard.
The cursor blinked steadily, waiting for something I could not yet give.
"I don't know," I admitted quietly. "I need information. About him. About the company. There's something there, I can feel it. But at the same time…"
"You don't want to get involved," Beth finished for me.
"Exactly."
She let out a small laugh. "You do realize those two things don't go together, right?"
I sighed, leaning back slightly. "I know. But I have to try."
Because this was not just about curiosity anymore.
Something deeper was pulling me in, something I could not fully explain.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur of research and half formed ideas. By the time I finally returned to my apartment, exhaustion had settled into my bones.
I barely had the energy to change before collapsing onto my bed.
My phone buzzed softly beside me.
I reached for it without thinking, expecting a message from Beth or maybe an update from work.
Instead, it was an email.
No name. No signature.
Just a single line.
"Not everything is as it seems. Watch your back, Amelia Winters."
A chill ran through me instantly.
I sat up, my heart beginning to race as I read the message again, hoping I had misunderstood it. But the words remained the same, cold and deliberate.
My mind jumped to the one place I had spent years trying to avoid.
My parents.
They had always been careful, always guarded about certain parts of their lives. As a child, I had not questioned it.
But now, looking back, there had been too many things that did not quite make sense.
Too many secrets left unexplained.
And now this.
This did not feel random.
This felt targeted.
A slow realization settled over me, heavy and unavoidable.
The peace I thought I had built over the past years was fragile.
Temporary
Xavier. Steel Enterprises.
My parents.
None of these things were separate.
They were connected.
And somehow, I had just stepped right into the middle of it.