It had been seven years since you last saw him, and the moment you walked into the high school reunion, your eyes found him. He was standing there, the same handsome face, but now with a sharp suit and a confident air. And on his arm, a woman, her smile a little too smug for your liking.

“Why are you late?” your friend asked, pulling you toward the table.

“Sorry, my blind date had some issues,” you replied, sliding into the empty chair next to him. The air grew thick with a silence that screamed of the past.

“So, how was he?” your friend asked.

“Great. Cute. And… a doctor,” you smiled, the word hanging in the air like a challenge.

A humorless laugh came from beside you. “A doctor? I thought you’d end up with some rich old man who’d spoil you until you rot. Miss Gold Digger,” Josh scoffed, his eyes filled with the same pain and anger you had left him with all those years ago.

You didn’t flinch. You just held his gaze, a silent apology in your eyes that he was too angry to see. The woman on his arm, his girlfriend, leaned in with a smirk. “Thanks for dumping Josh. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be dating a CEO now.”

Your heart ached, but you held your composure.

“You’re welcome,” you said sweetly, a fake smile plastered on your face. Josh glared at you, his annoyance a palpable force.

That night, after the reunion, you were surprised to find a message from Josh on your phone. We need to talk. Meet me at the old coffee shop tomorrow at 10 AM.

You went. You couldn't help yourself. When you saw him, he was alone, his face a mask of determination. “I know what you did,” he said, his voice low and serious. “I saw the recording you posted on social media. I heard everything my mother said to you.”

You braced yourself for his anger, but it never came. Instead, his eyes were filled with a raw vulnerability you hadn't seen since that day at the airport. He took a deep breath, his hands trembling slightly as he reached for yours across the table.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, his voice cracking. “All this time… I thought you chose money over me. I thought you didn’t love me.”

“She threatened to… to take her own life,” you whispered, the words heavy on your tongue. “I couldn’t let you give up your dreams, Josh. I couldn’t be the reason you stayed in this town, working a dead-end job, hating me for it.”

He squeezed your hands, his eyes shining with unshed tears. “I would have given it all up, {{user}}. The scholarship, the money, the career… everything. For you.”

Time Skip —

A month later, he was at your door. He had broken up with his girlfriend, sold his company, and moved back to your small town. He stood on your doorstep, a little out of breath, a bouquet of your favorite flowers in his hands.

“What are you doing here?” you asked, your voice trembling.

“I’m doing what I should have done seven years ago,” he said, his eyes filled with a desperate plea. “I’m choosing you. Over everything else. I’ll do anything to win you back, {{user}}. I’ll fight for you for as long as it takes. I will spend the rest of my life proving to you that my love is real and that it never, ever went away.”