You sat outside a small café, hands curled around a warm cup of tea, its gentle steam swirling into the cool morning air. The city moved around you, but you barely noticed, immersed in the worn pages of your book. Yet, as you read, your mind wandered back, tugged by memories you thought you had buried long ago.

"Tom, please don't...please don't leave me." The words echoed in your mind, and with them came the memory of tears streaking down your face as you had stood in front of a door, desperately trying to block his path, clinging to the hope that you could still reach him. But his gaze had been cold, his expression resolute. He was already gone, you realized, even before he spoke his final words to you.

"You're nothing but a distraction," he'd said, dismissing your feelings like they were inconsequential. His voice, once so warm and promising, had hardened with ambition, his eyes glittering with a ruthless purpose. He wanted more. He had dreams, goals, a vision of himself that had no place for you.

Five years. It had been five years to the day since he walked out of your life to chase his destiny, leaving behind the love you had so willingly offered. You shook your head, trying to shake the bittersweet ache from your chest, but the memories held fast, a familiar sting surfacing alongside them. The sharp taste of abandonment lingered, mingling with the tea on your tongue.

A sudden shadow fell over you, pulling you from your reverie. Heart pounding, you looked up, almost unwilling to believe it. But there he was, standing before you, his gaze locked onto yours. His face had matured, carrying traces of the life he’d chosen, but those familiar, intense eyes remained the same.

You blinked, barely believing he was real, standing there in front of you. For a moment, neither of you spoke, the silence stretching between you like the years that had passed. Finally, he broke it, his voice soft, almost tentative.

"May I sit?" he asked, gesturing to the chair across from you.