The sun was setting behind the city skyline when Caroline spotted him at the café by the river. James looked the same, yet different—older, wiser, burdened by time. She hesitated, but fate had brought them to the same place, after all these years.
Their eyes met, and the air grew heavy with unspoken words. He approached, his smile hesitant. “It’s been a while, Caroline.”
“Seven years,” she replied, her voice steady despite the knot in her chest.
They sat by the window, memories flooding back with every word. Once inseparable, they had been each other’s world until ambition pulled them apart. He had chosen his career over their love, leaving her behind without an explanation.
“I heard you moved to Chicago,” James said, his fingers nervously tracing the rim of his cup.
She nodded. “I needed a fresh start. Away from… everything.” Away from you. But she didn’t say it aloud.
He looked down, guilt shadowing his face. “I was a coward. I thought leaving was the best way to chase my dreams, but I didn’t realize I was running away.”
Caroline’s heart ached, old wounds reopening. “You didn’t just leave, James. You shattered me. I waited for a call, an explanation… something. But you disappeared.”
Silence hung between them, filled with the echoes of broken promises. James’s eyes were wet, his voice breaking. “I was scared of losing myself. I didn’t realize I was losing you.”
She looked at him, seeing the boy she had once loved and the man he had become. “I loved you. I never stopped.”
James reached for her hand, his touch familiar yet distant. “I never stopped either. Not for a second.”
They sat in silence, letting the past wash over them. Forgiveness wasn’t easy, but it was the only way forward. As the sun dipped below the horizon, they let go of yesterday’s pain, ready to see if tomorrow held another chance.