Three Years of not Being Chosen, I Left Chapter 06

Three Years of not Being Chosen, I Left Chapter 06

After that faree of a wedding I never looked back.

The second year after I moved home I joined a fast-growing renewable energy company.

It took me two years to climb from manager to regional director.

Work filled every empty space. It gave me something solid to stand on.

One late autumn evening I was having dinner with a partner, Mr. Mercer, at a private dining restaurant to talk through the next quarter’s acquisition.

Ryan Mercer was known in the industry for being sharp and ruthless.

In person he was quietly considerate.

The server brought the last limited signature dessert of the night-only one left.

Ryan slid the white porcelain plate toward me without hesitation.

“You’ve pulled three all-nighters on that proposal. This is yours.”

I looked at the perfect dessert and felt something shift.

The custard center I once waited forty minutes for and never got to taste was, to someone else, simply the obvious choice.

I smiled and picked up the spoon.

“Then I won’t refuse.”

We walked out together into the cold.

A figure shot up the steps from the shadows.

“Nora!”

I stopped. Looked at him.

Ethan.

Two years had aged him ten. Hair a mess, eyes sunken, gray stubble covering his jaw.

“Nora, I’ve been looking for you for half a year. I finally found you-”

His voice was raw. He started toward me.

Ryan stepped forward before I moved, calm and solid between us.

“I don’t have time to sort your garbage.”

He stared at me like he couldn’t recognize the woman who used to barely raise her voice.

His eyes flicked from Ryan to the tailored clothes I was wearing, and something finally clicked.

I turned away without giving him another second of attention.

“Mr. Mercer, let’s go. I’d rather not let this ruin the evening.”

Ryan gave a small nod, opened the black umbrella, and angled it carefully over me as we walked to the Maybach waiting at the curb.

“Nora! Don’t leave! You can’t do this to me!”

Ethan screamed behind us. Security held him back at the restaurant entrance.

I slid into the warm car.

Ryan came around to the driver’s side and handed me a cup of hot tea his assistant had just bought.

“Someone from before?”

He started the engine, casual.

“Yeah. A dead man who never left the past.”

Ryan gave a quiet laugh and didn’t ask anything else.

“Bidding meeting tomorrow morning. You ready?”

“Of course.

I watched the clean stretch of road ahead, eyes clear.

“That project’s already mine.”

The car slipped into the city traffic.

In the rearview Ethan was still on his knees in the cold rain outside the restaurant, a useless pile that would

never stand up again.

A corner and the night swallowed the small black shape completely.

The long, messy ledger of ten years finally closed.

Outside the wind was sharp. Inside the car was warm.

I leaned back and let out a long breath.

Tomorrow would be clear.

Su would the rest of my life.

-The End