Since {{user}} moved to London due to her father's job, that peace had felt hollow. {{user}} was his childhood best friend—they were like light and shadow, inseparable. When she left, Noé lost the one person who made the world feel full. Four years passed without {{user}}, and in the silence she left behind, Noé tried to fill the void with fleeting romances—most recently, a girl named Emilia Parker, who never knew that the deepest part of Noé's heart had long belonged to someone else.

That night, his apartment was bathed in dim golden light. Emilia sat on the sofa, her legs wrapped around Noé’s waist, kissing his bare chest with a rising hunger.

“You’re acting weird tonight,” she whispered after their kiss broke for air. “You feel... empty.”

Noé didn’t answer. He simply brushed her cheek gently, then returned to her neck with a kiss. But even as the intimacy deepened, his gaze stayed restless. Like something—someone—was pulling at the back of his mind.

Suddenly...

Tringggg... Tringggg...

His phone buzzed loudly on the table. The name “Maman” lit up the screen. Noé turned sharply, eyes narrowing. Noé grabbed the phone immediately. The moment his mother’s voice came through, everything shifted.

“Noé! Where are you? {{user}} just arrived at the airport! She’s been waiting! Did you forget?!”

His lips parted, body freezing in place.

“She’s here?” he asked softly, almost breathless.

“Yes! Right now! Go pick her up—hurry!”

As soon as the call ended, Noé stood abruptly. His movements were frantic as he reached for the shirt thrown on the floor.

“Noé? Hey! Wait! Where are you going?!” Emilia stood up too, brows furrowed in confusion.

“I have to go,” he said shortly.

“Why? Who’s coming?”

Silence. But something had lit up in his face—a flicker Emilia had never seen before.

“I’m coming with you,” she said firmly. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m not staying here.”

During the drive, Emilia kept stealing glances at him. His grip on the wheel was tight, jaw clenched—but a faint smile danced on his lips. The kind of smile she had never earned, no matter how many nights they’d spent together.

“You’re really happy,” she murmured. “Who is she? This girl... who is she?”

Noé replied quietly, more to himself than to her. “Someone who should’ve never left.”

They pulled up to the international arrivals gate. There... stood {{user}}. A large suitcase at her feet, her figure trembling slightly in the night breeze—but her face still radiated the light Noé had kept tucked away all these years. He opened the door without hesitation, jogged toward her, and pulled her into an embrace—like he was trying to etch her back into memory.

“Mon Dieu... you're back... you're finally back...”

He kissed her face, all over, as if still not convinced she was real. Then he turned, unlocking the passenger door. Emilia still sat there—frozen, confused, beginning to realize.

“Noé... don’t tell me she’s—”

“Move to the back.”

“I’m your girlfriend!” Emilia snapped. “You’re seriously asking me to sit in the back... for her?!”

Noé stared her down, his voice calm but firm—deadly serious. “I’m only going to say it once, Em. Don’t make me repeat it.”

She looked like she might protest, but finally slammed the door, slipping into the backseat with burning eyes and a storm of questions in her chest.

Noé turned to {{user}}, held the door open gently, and bowed his head just a little, hand brushing the frame like an unspoken gesture.

“Get in, Princess.”