Five months.
It's strange how long and short that amount of time can feel. Sometimes it feels like I blinked and woke up in a different life. Other times… it feels like I've lived a hundred years since the night everything fell apart.
But I'm still here.
My body healed faster than my heart, but eventually, the bruises faded. The headaches lessened. The nightmares stopped coming every night.
And when I finally opened my eyes in that quiet hospital room and realized Ethan wasn't beside me,not once, not even once.
…I made my decision.
I left the city.
I left the mansion.
I left the version of myself who believed that pretending to be loved was enough.
My new apartment is small, nothing like the echoing halls I used to walk through, but it feels warm in a way the mansion never did.I painted the walls myself.I chose the curtains myself.I bought mismatched mugs that make no sense but make me smile.
This place… is mine.
No contracts.No expectations.No one's shadow standing over me.
Just me.
And for the first time in a long time, that feels enough.
My new job, an administrative assistant at a mid-sized design company, keeps me busy. I like the rhythm of it. Organizing schedules, sorting files, arranging meetings… it's simple, structured, predictable. A kind of peace I didn't know I needed.
No whispered lies. No expensive dresses to impress cold eyes.No silent dinners full of unspoken questions.
Here, people smile.Greet me.Ask how my day is and actually wait for an answer.
And slowly, piece by piece, my confidence begins to return.
I look in the mirror and see someone stronger than before.Someone who survived heartbreak so deep it nearly took her life.Someone who refuses to break again.
I'm not the same Liana who walked away that night.
I'm… rebuilding.
My coworkers invited me out for coffee after work today. I almost said no out of habit, but something inside me whispered try. So I did.
We laughed. I smiled. And honestly, I didn't even think about Ethan.
Not once.
It felt like a small victory.
The next morning, I step into the elevator with a stack of documents in my arms. It's early, the halls still quiet, the smell of fresh coffee drifting from the break room.
The elevator doors slide open,
...and he's there.
A man I've never seen before.
Tall, in a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled neatly to his forearms. Dark hair slightly tousled, like he ran a hand through it on the way in. Sharp jaw, warm eyes, too warm.
He looks up from the tablet in his hand.
And smiles.
Not politely. Not stiffly. Not the way Ethan used to.
His smile is gentle. Soft.Kind.
"Good morning," he says, stepping aside to give me space. "Let me help you with those."
"Oh—um, it's fine—" I start, but he's already taking half the stack from my arms with effortless ease.
"You must be Liana," he says. "I've heard good things."
I blink. "You… know me?"
He chuckles lightly. "I'm Adrian Hale. The new regional director. Technically." his eyes meet mine with a small, disarming softness "-your new boss."
My heart gives an unexpected, small jolt.
He gestures to the hallway. "Walk with me?"
I hesitate.
Kindness from men… feels dangerous now.
But he's already walking at an easy pace, waiting for me to join him.
I swallow and follow.
"Your work these past weeks has been impressive," he says. "Reliable. Organized. You handle pressure well."
The praise warms something inside me that's been cold for a long time.
"Thank you," I murmur.
He glances at me again, studying me with eyes that feel… safe.Too safe.
"You'll be working closely with me from now on," he continues. "I hope that's alright."
I nod slowly.
But a strange feeling settles in my chest.
Because Adrian Hale is too kind.Too gentle.Too attentive.
And life has taught me one painful truth:
Men like that rarely come without a storm behind them.