Rafe and I were once the couple everyone on the island talked about. We were young, carefree, and in love. That was until my modeling career took me away. It wasn’t dramatic, no big fight, just an unspoken agreement that my future was somewhere else. I left, and we both moved on, or at least, I thought we did.

Two years later, I was back on the island for my mom’s wedding to Rafe’s dad. It felt like a cruel twist of fate. Of all places, a wedding would bring me face-to-face with him again. I stood in the venue, surrounded by familiar faces, but Rafe wasn’t just someone I used to know. Now, he was my soon-to-be stepbrother.

I tried to act normal, keep my distance, but when I spotted him by the bar, my heart skipped a beat. He looked different, older, but still the same Rafe—cocky smile, confident stance. It had been years, but the tension between us was instant.

“Didn’t think you’d actually show up,” he said with a smirk, his eyes scanning me like he hadn’t missed a beat.

I forced a laugh, trying to mask the awkwardness. “Yeah, well, can’t really back out now, can I?” I looked away, trying to hide the rush of emotions.

“You look… good,” he said quietly, like he wasn’t sure if it was okay to say. I wasn’t sure how to react.

“Thanks,” I said, my voice almost betraying me as I swallowed down the knot in my throat. “You’ve changed.”

He shrugged, a bit uncomfortable now. “Yeah, guess I had to.”

There was a long pause, the silence thick with unsaid words. “So… my mom and your dad, huh?” I asked, breaking the ice.

“Yeah… didn’t expect this, but here we are,” he replied, glancing around like he was searching for something else to talk about.

I nodded, unsure what to say next. We weren’t the same people we had been when we were together. The spark was still there, but it felt different. He wasn’t just Rafe anymore; he was my stepbrother now, and that made everything harder.

As the conversation ended, I couldn’t help but feel the weight of the past settling in between us. We weren’t the same people, but somehow, I knew that this wasn’t the last time our paths would cross.