Chapter 1: The Weight of What We Left Behind
The city had never felt this cold.
Marissa Hale stood in front of the old apartment building, her hands trembling at her sides, the night air biting at her skin. It had been years..years since she had walked these streets, years since she had left behind everything she thought she'd never need again.
But the past, as it turned out, had a way of finding you when you least expected it.
Her gaze lifted to the top floor window, the one that had once been hers. The memories came rushing back in a tide of sensations: the laughter shared under the glow of the kitchen light, the heat of his touch, the feel of his arms around her, making promises that now felt like ghosts.
And then, just as quickly as it all came, it vanished replaced by the hollow emptiness that had settled deep in her bones after everything fell apart.
A part of her thought she'd left it all behind. The pain. The regret. The raw, aching need for something she couldn't quite define.
But standing here, looking up at the place that held the pieces of her broken heart, she realized something: She hadn't left anything behind. It had followed her. Everywhere she went.
And it was all tied to one person.
Mason Blake.
She could still remember the first time she saw him. The way he'd stood there, leaning casually against his truck, the wind tousling his dark hair, the light of the setting sun making his eyes look like they could hold the weight of the universe. He had been all confidence, all mystery, and she had been completely, utterly captivated.
For a while, it had been enough to make her forget about the world. Enough to make her feel like maybe she wasn't so alone after all.
But that was before the storm came.
And now, here she was again, facing the very thing she thought she had buried.
With a shaky breath, she turned away from the building and walked toward the café on the corner. It was small, unassuming, the kind of place she used to frequent when things felt less complicated. But today, it felt like a prison.
The door jingled softly as she entered, the warm scent of coffee filling the air, but her thoughts were a million miles away. She slid into a booth in the corner, trying to ignore the way her heart raced in anticipation of what she was about to do.
He had to be here.
And then, like fate's cruel joke, she saw him.
Mason Blake stood by the counter, his broad back to her, his dark coat hanging loosely from his shoulders, his hair tousled in that familiar way she used to run her fingers through.
Everything about him was the same and yet… everything was different. His shoulders were heavier now, weighed down with the years that had passed. The carefree smile she remembered seemed distant, like something buried beneath a lifetime of unspoken words.
He hadn't seen her yet.
Her breath caught in her throat as she stood there, frozen, wondering if she could go through with it. Could she face him? Could she confront the past that had been haunting her for so long?
But before she could decide, he turned.
Their eyes locked.
For a heartbeat, the world seemed to stop.
His eyes—a shade of deep brown that used to make her lose herself—searched hers, as though he was trying to read her very soul. The familiar warmth she had once felt in his gaze was there, but it was laced with something else now. Regret. Pain. Maybe even longing.
"Marissa?" His voice was a low rasp, like he hadn't used it in years.
She nodded, her throat too tight to speak, and suddenly, all the walls she'd built around her heart were crumbling. There he was, standing right in front of her, the man who had once meant everything to her and who had shattered her without even knowing it.
"You came back," he said, taking a cautious step toward her.
"I had no choice," she replied, her voice barely more than a whisper.
He was closer now, close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from his body, close enough that the memories she had tried so hard to bury came rushing back. The way his lips had felt on hers. The way his hands had always known exactly where to touch, where to pull her in, making her forget everything but him.
But that was before.
Before the lies. Before the secrets. Before everything that had come between them.
Her heart pounded in her chest as she tried to steady herself. She couldn't let him see how much she still felt. She couldn't let him know how badly he had broken her, how much she had missed him.
"How are you?" Mason asked, his voice softer now, like he was afraid of what the answer might be.
Marissa took a breath, steadying herself. "I'm fine," she said, forcing a smile, though it felt like it might break into a thousand pieces at any moment.
He didn't believe her. She could see it in his eyes.
"You never were good at lying," he murmured, taking another step toward her, his gaze never leaving hers.
"I'm not lying," she said, but even as the words left her mouth, she knew they weren't true.
The truth was, she was far from fine. She was standing here, in front of the man who had torn her heart apart, and she didn't know what to feel. Didn't know whether to run away or to fall into his arms like she once had.
"I didn't expect to see you again," he said, his voice tinged with something unreadable. Regret? Longing? "Not like this."
"Me neither," she whispered, looking down at her hands, suddenly unsure of everything.
The tension between them was thick, suffocating. She could feel the weight of the years between them, the weight of everything unsaid.
And yet, as their eyes met again, something shifted something fragile, something tentative but something that, for the first time in a long while, made her feel alive.
Mason stepped forward, his hand reaching for hers.
"I've missed you," he said, his voice barely a breath. "More than you'll ever know."
Marissa's heart skipped a beat as she looked up at him. The world had never felt so heavy, and yet, in this moment, it also felt lighter than it had in years.
And for the first time in a long time, she let herself believe that maybe, just maybe, they could fix what had been broken between them.