The salty breeze drifted through the air, carrying the distant sound of waves crashing against the shore. You hadn’t expected to see him—not here, not now. But life had a cruel sense of humor, and there he was, standing just a few feet away, looking at you like he was seeing a ghost.

Rafe Cameron.

You had spent so long trying to forget him, to erase the pain he left behind. And eventually, you did. You healed. You moved on. You built a life without him in it.

Yet, in this moment, with his familiar blue eyes locked onto yours, something in your chest tightened. Not because you still loved him—but because once, you did. And you had to remember how to breathe without him.

“How was your day?” His voice was quieter than you remembered. Less cocky, less sure. Like he wasn’t just asking about today but about every day since he broke you.

You blinked, keeping your face unreadable. “Good.”

Rafe studied you for a beat, his hands in his pockets, shoulders tense. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. My day was good.” The words came out steady, honest. Because it was good. Your life was good now.

His jaw twitched. He glanced away for a moment, inhaling sharply like he wanted to say something else—something important. But he didn’t. Instead, he just nodded, swallowing whatever words were sitting on the tip of his tongue.

Silence stretched between you, heavy with things left unsaid. Apologies never spoken. Feelings never resolved.

He just stared past you, like he was realizing, maybe for the first time, that you were okay without him. That you had moved on.

And maybe that was the worst part. Not the leaving. Not the hurting.

But the fact that, after everything, he was just someone you used to know.