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When it took a long time to get over the boy you were deeply in love with, now he just comes walking right into your life again, wanting to talk
Warnings none

Amelia
After a long turbulent relationship with Rafe, you'd done everything you could to piece your broken heart back together. Despite how toxic the two of you had been together, you'd love him deeply - he was the love of your life. Moving on had been a struggle, but somehow, you'd managed to find a way forward, carving out a new life and routine.

But all of that came crashing down the moment he walked into the country club, where you' been borking for a while now. You could tell immediately he wasn't there for the usual social scene or to me friends. No, his eyes were searchinf, and his steps were powerful and purposeful as he made his way to the bar where you were serving.

"Rafe? What are you doing here?" You asked, glancing around at the other customers as you quickly moved toward him, hoping to keep things calm and low-key. But with Rafe, nothing was ever predictable, and a scene was always a possibility.

You froze for a split second, heart pounding against your ribs. The last time you'd seen Rafe Cameron was months ago, after the fallout. After everything had shattered. His face had lingered in your mind for so long, a painful memory you hadn't been able to shake, no matter how hard you tried. The love you'd shared, the mess you'd made together, all of it felt like a lifetime ago. But standing in front of him now, with his intense, familiar eyes locked onto yours, it was as if time had rewound itself in an instant.

"Rafe?" you repeated, your voice quieter this time, a thin layer of disbelief coating your words. "What are you doing here?"

He looked around, his jaw clenching briefly, before his gaze returned to you, determined. His eyes had that same sharpness, the same intensity you remembered all too well. But now, there was something different about them. Something raw—like he was searching for something, maybe even for you. He wasn't here for the usual upper-class mingling, the kind of socializing that had always been his domain. This wasn't a casual visit to rub elbows with the country club crowd.

"Please, Lia" Rafe said, his voice low and urgent, eyes flicking briefly to the rest of the bar. "We need to talk."

Your chest tightened at the words. You knew that tone. The one that always signaled an impending storm. Every instinct in your body screamed for you to walk away, to keep your distance, to protect the life you'd painstakingly rebuilt after everything that had happened. But despite all the rational thinking, all the self-preservation that had become second nature over the last few months, your feet didn't move. You didn't walk away. You stood there, caught between the weight of your past and the future you were still trying to figure out.

The tension in the room seemed to swell around you as you instinctively took a step closer, though you regretted it the moment you did. The scent of his cologne hit you like a wave, familiar, haunting. You'd spent so many nights with him, in his presence, inhaling that scent as you both tangled in a mess of love and destruction. The memories came rushing back: the late nights, the quiet moments that somehow felt real, the intense highs and soul-crushing lows.

"What could you possibly want, Rafe?" You tried to keep your voice steady, but the years of unresolved feelings crackled in the air between you. "You've made your choice. And so did I."

He didn't flinch at your words, didn't seem to be thrown by your coldness. Instead, he took a step closer, and you felt your pulse quicken as his eyes softened, just for a moment. "Lia, I'm not here to make excuses, or try and explain everything away." He shook his head slightly, his fingers brushing against the edge of the counter, a gesture so familiar, it made your chest ache. "I'm just... I need to talk to you. Please."

Your breath caught in your throat. The plea in his voice, the desperation buried beneath the bravado—it hit too close to home. Rafe had never been good at showing vulnerability. That was always your thing. You were the one who wore your heart on your sleeve, who let him in and let him tear you apart. You'd allowed yourself to believe that, after everything, he'd finally let go of the past. But standing there now, with his eyes locked on you, it was clear: Rafe hadn't changed. He was still tangled in the same web of his own making, pulling everyone around him back in.

"I'm not sure there's anything to talk about," you said softly, stepping back as you crossed your arms over your chest. It was a defensive move, one you hadn't even consciously made. "We've been through this before, Rafe. You don't just get to show up, after everything that's happened, and expect things to magically get better." The words came out in a rush, like the dam had finally broken.

His eyes flashed with something, but it wasn't anger—it was regret. The kind of regret that only someone who truly understood how much they'd messed up could have. And for a moment, it almost made you second-guess everything. Almost.

"Look," he said, his voice low, "I know I don't deserve anything from you. Hell, I'm not even sure I deserve to be standing here, asking for anything. But I need you to listen. Just for a minute."

You couldn't breathe. The intensity of the moment, the pull between your past and your present, was suffocating. You had worked so hard to move on. To find some semblance of peace. But standing here, in front of him, all of those carefully constructed walls you'd built around your heart were beginning to crumble. You were starting to see him—the real Rafe again. Not the one who had hurt you, but the one who had once loved you fiercely, even if in his own messed-up way.

You could feel the weight of the silence pressing down on both of you, and for a second, the world outside the bar faded away. There was only you, and Rafe, and the complicated history you shared.

"I never stopped thinking about you, Lia," he said, his voice cracking slightly, betraying him for a moment. "Not once. And I know that's not enough. I know I don't deserve a second chance. But I need to fix this. I need to make it right. I just... I can't let you go without knowing that I tried to make up for what I did."

The rawness in his voice took you off guard. For the first time in months, you saw him as something other than the reckless, arrogant son of a powerful family. You saw him as the person he had been before everything fell apart—the person you had loved so deeply, the person who had broken your heart into a thousand pieces. And that was the part that hurt the most. Because you knew deep down that you still loved him.

But love wasn't enough. Not anymore.

You took a steadying breath and forced your gaze to meet his. "I can't do this again, Rafe," you said, your voice barely above a whisper. "I can't keep letting you in, only to be torn apart again. I've already been through too much. I can't... I won't go through that again."

His eyes softened even further, but he didn't pull away. He took a step closer, his hand resting lightly on the counter. "I'm not asking for that, Lia. I just need you to know that I'm sorry. And that I'm trying. That I'm willing to try for real this time. I can't fix everything, I know that. But if there's even a chance for us to make something work, I want to take it."

For a moment, you didn't speak. You could feel the weight of the decision pressing down on you—felt the pull of the past, the love that still lingered in your heart like an old wound that never fully healed. But you knew you couldn't live in the past forever. You couldn't keep holding on to someone who had never truly let you go, but had also never really been there when you needed him the most.

You looked up at him, eyes wet with unshed tears. "I can't forgive you," you said, voice breaking, "not now, not yet. But maybe someday, maybe... just maybe."

Rafe's gaze dropped to the floor for a moment, and when he met your eyes again, there was no anger, no frustration, just a sad understanding. "I'll wait. I'll wait as long as it takes."

And with that, the distance between you seemed to stretch out infinitely, the space between what was and what could have been growing farther apart by the second.

Ava's notes
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New chapterrrrr
I think this one might be my favourite
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