They Bet I Would Leave, I Proved Them Right Chapter 09

They Bet I Would Leave, I Proved Them Right Chapter 09

In year five, the project entered its final phase.

I was twenty–three.

I’d gone from being the youngest intern on the team to running its core module.

Before the results went public, the center gave us one chance to reach out to our families.

The second I powered on my phone, the messages hit like an avalanche.

Nolan had sent over two thousand.

The very first one was exactly what I expected.

[Mara, stop being dramatic.]

His last messages had come in just yesterday.

[I’m not waiting for you to forgive me.]

[I just need to know you’re okay.]

Every time Grant won something, he’d photograph it and send it to me.

Graham had uploaded the recovered videos, one by one.

Reid had re–edited an entire documentary about our childhood.

He called it [The Empty Seat].

The cover image was the unfilled hole under the pear tree.

I watched all of it.

Then I cleared every message with one tap.

Not because I hated them.

I just didn’t have a reason to keep any of it.

The research presentation was held in Bellhaven.

The center sent a vehicle to bring us back.

Five years later, I saw that toll plaza again.

The concrete ledge had been rebuilt.

The pendant was gone.

The colleague riding with me glanced over.

“Looking for something?”

“Nothing.”

The vehicle crossed into Bellhaven.

Digital billboards along the highway were running promotions for the presentation.

My name was listed first on the core team.

All four of them showed up on presentation day.

They sat in the back row.

Five years.

Grant had filled out, broader now.

Graham had ditched the wire–rimmed glasses that used to make him look untouchable.

Reid’s hair was cropped short.

Nolan was thinner. Noticeably thinner.

When I stepped onto the stage, all four of them stood.

The host’s voice filled the auditorium.

“Mara and her team have completed a next–generation desert energy conversion system.”

“The technology will be deployed across twelve Westreach test sites.”

The room erupted.

From the stage, I could see Nolan’s eyes glistening.

When it was over, he was the first to reach me.

“Mara.”

I stopped.

“Can I help you?”

He hadn’t expected me to sound like that, like he was anyone.

Every word he’d spent five years rehearsing died on his tongue.

All he did was pull out the birthstone pendant.

The crack had been repaired with gold.

“I found it at the toll plaza.”

I didn’t take it.

“Thank you.”

“Keep it.”

His hand hung in the air between us.

“It’s yours.”

“It used to be.”

“Not anymore.”

Grant was standing a few feet away, jaw clenched tight.

Graham and Reid kept their distance.

They’d finally learned not to decide things for me.

Nolan’s voice dropped.

“Can I come see you in Westreach?”

“No.”

“What about after the project goes public?”

I considered it.

“You can visit.”

“You’ll need to go through the standard visitor protocol.”

That was more final than any rejection.

He wasn’t my boyfriend anymore.

He wasn’t my childhood friend.

He wasn’t someone who got special access to my life.

He was just a visitor.