The office had long since emptied by the time Alex glanced at the clock in the corner of her computer screen.
8:47 p.m.
She rubbed her tired eyes and adjusted her glasses before returning to the mountain of reports spread across her desk. The city lights beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows painted the office in shades of gold and silver, a reminder that the world outside had continued moving while she remained buried in work.
Most employees had gone home hours ago.
Alex couldn't afford to.
Not when she had spent years proving that she belonged in rooms people assumed she had no place in.
Not when every opportunity mattered.
Her phone buzzed against the desk.
Asha: Yuto had dinner already. He keeps asking when Mama is coming home. Don't worry. He's okay.
Alex's expression softened instantly.
Alex: Tell him Mama will tuck him in tomorrow morning. Thank you for everything.
She stared at the screen for a moment longer before locking it and releasing a quiet breath.
"You should go home."
Alex nearly jumped.
She looked up to find Yujiro standing near her desk, sleeves rolled up and a file tucked beneath one arm.
"I didn't realize anyone was still here," she admitted.
His gaze swept over the untouched cup of coffee beside her keyboard.
"You've been here since the meeting."
"I'm almost finished."
"You said that an hour ago."
Alex blinked.
"You've been keeping track?"
The question slipped out before she could stop herself.
For a brief moment, silence stretched between them.
Then Yujiro answered evenly.
"I notice the people who work under me."
Professional.
Detached.
And yet, something about the way his eyes lingered on her suggested it wasn't the entire truth.
"You should head home, Ms. Bolivar," he continued. "Exhaustion leads to mistakes."
Alex closed the file in front of her.
"I appreciate your concern, sir, but I can handle it."
His expression remained unreadable.
"I know."
The response caught her off guard.
Not I expect you to.
Not Do your job.
Just
I know.
For reasons she couldn't explain, her chest tightened.
Yujiro placed another folder on her desk.
"The revised projections from today's client meeting."
Alex stared at it.
"You finished them already?"
"I don't like delays."
A beat passed.
"You did well today," he added.
It wasn't said as an obligation.
It wasn't empty praise.
Coming from Yujiro, it sounded almost rare.
Alex offered him a small smile.
"Thank you."
For a second, something shifted in his expression.
Recognition.
Memory.
The ghost of another night.
Three years ago, she had smiled at him the same way soft and genuine, without expectation.
He looked away first.
"You should go home."
Alex stood and gathered her belongings.
"Good night, Mr. Yujiro."
He gave a curt nod.
"Good night, Ms. Bolivar."
She turned toward the elevators, heels echoing against the polished floor.
Only after the doors closed behind her did Yujiro allow himself to exhale.
He walked back into his office and sat behind his desk, his eyes falling absentmindedly on the employee profile HR had provided earlier that week.
Alexandria Bolivar.
Harvard graduate.
Top recommendations.
Excellent credentials.
No spouse listed.
His gaze lingered.
He wasn't sure why it bothered him.
Or why he found himself wondering what awaited her outside these office walls.
Who she hurried home to.
Whether there was someone waiting for her.
Meanwhile, inside the taxi racing through the city streets, Alex glanced down at the photo on her phone.
A little boy with bright eyes and a mischievous grin smiled back at her.
Yuto.
Her greatest joy.
Her most carefully guarded secret.
Alex brushed her thumb across the picture.
"Mama's coming home," she whispered softly.
Unaware that fate had already begun closing the distance between father and son.
And somewhere in the city, Yujiro found himself staring out at the skyline, unable to silence a question that refused to leave him.
Why did Alexandria Bolivar still feel so familiar?
Neither of them had the answer.
But the truth had a way of revealing itself.
Soon.
End of chapter 3