The tension between them lingered like an uninvited guest in every room they shared. Each passing day was a quiet storm, with unspoken words and unresolved feelings hanging in the air. Elena did her best to maintain her professionalism, but there was no escaping the history she shared with Luca Rossi, a history that seemed to resurface at every turn.

It had been a week since Luca's return, and though the office buzzed with the energy of the company's future under new leadership, Elena's world felt like it was spinning out of control. She couldn't deny the pull she felt whenever Luca was near, but the scars of the past were still raw. She wasn't the same young girl who had fallen in love with him. She was stronger now, more guarded, but something in the way Luca looked at her made her question if she had ever truly moved on.

Her phone buzzed on her desk, pulling her from her thoughts. It was a message from Victor.

Victor: "Meeting with Luca at 3. You'll be taking notes."

Elena's stomach tightened. Another meeting. Another opportunity for the past to creep up on her. She knew she had to face Luca sooner or later, but each encounter chipped away at the emotional walls she had built over the years.

As the clock ticked closer to three, Elena gathered her notepad and pen, steadying herself for yet another tense interaction. The conference room was bathed in the soft glow of the afternoon sun, and as she entered, she found Luca already seated, flipping through some documents. His hair was slightly disheveled, a contrast to the clean-cut, controlled version of him she remembered from years ago. It was an unintentional reminder that time had passed, and yet, something about him remained achingly familiar.

He glanced up as she entered, his eyes meeting hers with a quiet intensity. "Elena," he greeted, his voice calm but with a hint of something deeper.

"Luca," she replied, her voice cool and measured. She took her seat across from him, determined to keep things professional. She was here for work, nothing more.

They sat in silence for a few moments, the only sound in the room being the faint rustling of papers. Elena could feel Luca's gaze on her, but she refused to look up, focusing instead on her notepad, preparing to take notes for a meeting that hadn't yet begun.

"Are you really going to pretend we don't know each other?" Luca's voice broke the silence, catching her off guard. His tone was soft, but the weight of the question hit her like a punch to the gut.

Elena's fingers tightened around her pen, but she didn't look up. "We're here to work, Luca. That's what I'm doing."

Luca leaned back in his chair, letting out a quiet sigh. "You're always so good at avoiding the hard stuff, aren't you?"

Her heart skipped a beat, and she bit the inside of her cheek to keep from responding. He was right, of course. She had always been the one to avoid confrontation, to brush things under the rug in hopes that they would go away. But this wasn't something she could ignore, not with Luca sitting right in front of her, stirring up memories she had buried long ago.

"I'm not avoiding anything," Elena finally said, her voice steady but strained. "We're colleagues now. That's all there is to it."

Luca's eyes darkened, his jaw tightening. "Is that really all, Elena? Because I remember things being a lot more complicated than that."

Her chest tightened, and she looked up, meeting his gaze for the first time since the conversation had started. "That was a long time ago, Luca. We've both moved on."

He shook his head, his lips pressing into a thin line. "Have we? Because it doesn't feel like you've moved on. It feels like you're still running."

Elena's hands trembled slightly, and she clenched her fists under the table, trying to steady herself. "I'm not running. I'm just trying to do my job."

"Your job," Luca repeated, his voice filled with quiet frustration. "That's all you ever say. Work, work, work. What about us, Elena? What about what happened between us?"

Her heart pounded in her chest, and for a moment, she couldn't speak. The memories of their breakup flooded her mind—the anger, the hurt, the confusion. She had tried so hard to forget, to move on, but here Luca was, dragging it all back to the surface.

"There is no 'us' anymore," she said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. "We ended years ago, Luca. There's nothing left to talk about."

Luca's expression softened, and for the first time, she saw a flicker of vulnerability in his eyes. "You're wrong," he said gently. "There's so much we left unsaid, so much that still matters."

Elena swallowed hard, feeling the weight of his words settle over her. She had spent years convincing herself that what they had didn't matter anymore, that it was just a chapter in her life she had closed for good. But now, sitting across from him, she couldn't deny the truth. It still mattered. It always had.

But admitting that was dangerous. It meant opening herself up to the pain again, to the possibility of being hurt all over. She wasn't sure she could handle that, not after everything they had been through.

"You made your choice," Elena said, her voice firmer now. "You walked away."

Luca flinched, the hurt in his eyes unmistakable. "I made a mistake," he said softly. "I didn't know how to fix things back then. I didn't know how to fix us. But I'm here now, and I want to make things right."

Her chest tightened, the air between them heavy with unspoken emotions. She wanted to believe him, wanted to believe that things could be different this time. But the scars of their past were still fresh, and she wasn't sure she was ready to let them heal.

"We can't go back, Luca," she whispered, her voice wavering. "We're different people now."

He nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving hers. "I know. But maybe... maybe we can start over."

Elena's heart ached at the sincerity in his voice. The idea of starting over was tempting, a chance to rewrite the painful ending of their story. But it wasn't that simple. Too much had happened, and she wasn't sure if they could ever truly leave the past behind.

"I don't know if I can do that," she admitted, her voice barely audible.

Luca's gaze softened, and he reached across the table, his fingers brushing against hers. "I'm not asking you to forget what happened. I just want the chance to show you that I've changed, that we can be different."

Elena's breath caught in her throat at the touch of his hand, the warmth of his skin sending a shiver down her spine. She wanted to pull away, to keep her distance, but a part of her longed to stay, to see if there was still something worth fighting for.

The door to the conference room swung open, and Victor walked in, breaking the tension in an instant. Elena jerked her hand back, her heart racing as she quickly straightened in her seat, trying to compose herself.

Victor glanced between them, a knowing smile on his face. "I see you two are getting reacquainted," he said, his tone light.

Elena forced a smile, though her mind was still spinning from the conversation she had just had with Luca. "Just discussing the business," she said quickly, avoiding Luca's gaze.

Victor chuckled, clearly not buying her deflection but choosing not to press the matter. "Well, let's get to it then. We've got a lot to cover."

As the meeting began, Elena focused on her notes, her pen moving quickly across the paper. But no matter how hard she tried to concentrate on the work before her, her thoughts kept drifting back to Luca's words.

Maybe we can start over.

It was a dangerous hope, one that could lead to more heartache. But deep down, Elena couldn't help but wonder—what if he was right?

What if this was their chance to rewrite the ending of their story?