Claudette thought back; it had been over two months since Keiran had last reached for her.
Once, she had slipped into his embrace, draped in her favorite dress, hoping to reignite the spark. But he’d only brushed her off with a tired smile. “I’m exhausted; let’s just rest tonight.”
She’d sympathized, chalking it up to long hours, only to realize later that his energy had already been spent on someone else.
Claudette thought her heart had gone numb, but the slow, searing ache reminded her that it still hurt deeply.
She brushed the tears from her eyes, slipping his phone back where it belonged without waiting for him to see. She knew it was time to let go.
Her mind drifted to the first time she’d met Keiran in a dim alley near the university gates. He stood there, surrounded by a few others, his face a mask of calm, fearless, as though this was all too familiar to him.
Right before the fight could erupt, Claudette intervened, her tone cutting through the tension. “What are you all doing? The police are already on their way.” At that, they scattered, not daring to linger.
Keiran turned to go, but Claudette took his arm and led him to the convenience store. Gently, she tended to his wounds, the faint bruises lending an unexpected edge to his soft features as she placed each band-aid with care. They had no reason to connect before, but after that night, it seemed fate had other plans. She’d catch sight of him daily and soon learned he was a freshman, three years younger than her.
Keiran was always alone, solitary, and distant, which struck her as lonely. So, each morning, she’d offer him her breakfast, a small gesture of kindness. Soon enough, he grew to expect it, waiting by the lecture hall doors every morning, watching for Claudette’s familiar smile.
It wasn’t long before he took his turn, bringing breakfast and waiting patiently each day. Slowly, an unspoken connection grew between them, woven from shared silences and lingering glances.
This quiet routine stretched on for months until Claudette finished her project and prepared to leave campus. She could see that Keiran had grown attached to her, maybe because he didn’t have anyone else close.
Once she graduated, Claudette returned home, taking charge of her parents’ small company.
Whenever Keiran had the time, he would wait for her downstairs, and before long, her office became his quiet retreat. But everything changed with one single spark: the arrival of a bouquet of 99 roses from an admirer.
Keiran’s fury was unmistakable, and though Claudette suspected the cause, she hesitated to confront him, not wanting to shatter the delicate balance they had built.
That night, in the stillness of the office, the tension between them finally snapped. Keiran’s emotions spilled over, his voice low and intense as he pulled her close, confessing that in her arms, he found the warmth he had been craving, true warmth that made him feel, for the first time, that he truly had her.
Claudette had once believed Keiran’s words were a promise of love, but now, with the distance between them, it all seemed like the youthful, empty declarations of a boy.
He had found that same warmth elsewhere, leaving her behind as though she had never been needed.
The year Keiran graduated, Claudette threw herself into the world of networking, attending endless meetings and drinking until dawn to help him secure a position within Harris Corporation.
To her surprise, it took him only a year to rise to the top, and in the next two years, he had transformed the company into something far more powerful than she had ever imagined.
