Emily's POV
The city lights stretched like stars at her feet. The balcony air was crisp, a welcomed contrast to the suffocating atmosphere inside. Emily gripped the railing, her heart pounding louder than the distant traffic below.
She shouldn't have come.
She shouldn't have let herself look at him the way she did.
But when Lexi had looped her arm around Ethan, when she'd whispered in his ear with the intimacy of a woman who had legal rights to his name—Emily's breath had caught. Her stomach twisted in a way that reminded her of that night ten years ago when she'd watched him walk away.
She closed her eyes. Breathe, Emily. You're not that girl anymore.
The soft sound of footsteps broke her thoughts.
She turned—slowly—half expecting it to be Lexi with some saccharine goodbye.
But it was Ethan.
Of course it was.
Ethan's POV
He shouldn't have followed her.
He knew that.
But the moment she stepped onto the balcony, something in his chest broke loose. He couldn't explain it. All he knew was that he needed to be near her. Just for a moment. Just to know she was real. Not a figment of memory or guilt.
She turned to face him, moonlight framing her like a memory he never stopped chasing.
"I needed air," she said softly, her tone neutral but her eyes raw.
"Me too," he replied.
They stood in silence for a beat too long. The city buzzed beneath them, but it felt like they were alone in the world.
"Lexi throws quite a party," she said, almost like a jab.
Ethan didn't bite. "You shouldn't have been introduced like that."
Emily let out a humorless laugh. "As what? A 'team member'? Wasn't that the role I signed up for?"
His jaw tightened. "You know that's not what I meant."
"Do I?" She looked away, her fingers tightening on the railing. "Because it felt like a very clear message."
"She's—" He paused. "She's protective."
Emily turned back to him slowly. "Of what? Her marriage or the truth you're too afraid to say?"
That landed.
Emily's POV
The moment the words left her lips, she regretted them. But only a little.
He had to know he couldn't keep standing in two worlds.
Ethan stared at her, his expression unreadable. "It's not that simple."
"It never is. But you made your choices, Ethan. Ten years ago and again when you married her."
A beat of silence. His eyes flickered with something—pain, maybe. Regret.
"She's pregnant," he said suddenly.
Emily blinked. "What?"
Ethan looked away. "Just found out."
She swallowed hard. It felt like the final blow, even though it shouldn't have surprised her. He had a wife. Of course a child would follow.
But it still hurt.
"Congratulations," she said, voice brittle.
He flinched. "Emily—"
"No." She shook her head, backing up slightly. "Don't. Don't say my name like that."
"Like what?"
"Like it still means something to you."
Silence hung between them like a chasm.
Ethan's POV
It did mean something. Everything.
He'd tried to bury it. To lock it away in the part of his heart that was no longer allowed to speak.
But here she was. And just being near her made it impossible to pretend.
"I didn't want this," he confessed. "Not like this. Not with her."
Emily's lips parted, but she said nothing.
"I was going to find you," he continued, voice low. "After graduation. I had everything planned. But my family... they—"
"I know what they did," she cut in. "My parents told me. About the threats. The money. The pressure."
His throat tightened. "I didn't know they went that far. I swear, Emily. If I had—"
"It doesn't matter now," she whispered.
But it did. God, it did.
She was everything he'd wanted. Still wanted.
And yet... there was a baby. There was Lexi. There were promises made in boardrooms and hospitals and whispered obligations.
Still, he took a step forward.
Emily's POV
He moved closer, and her heart betrayed her again. It leapt, aching and reckless.
"Ethan," she warned, "don't—"
"I never stopped loving you," he said quietly. "Not even for a second."
The world paused.
She stared at him, stunned, unable to breathe. Her entire body froze, unsure whether to run or fall into him.
"You don't get to say that," she whispered, voice cracking. "You don't get to love me in secret while building a life with someone else."
"I know," he said. "But it's the truth."
A tear slipped down her cheek. She didn't wipe it away.
"This... this isn't fair."
"I know."
Another silence, filled only by the sound of their hearts.
Then she turned to the city again, her arms wrapped around herself like a shield. "You should go back inside. She'll notice you're gone."
"I don't care."
"You should."
Because Emily did.
She still did.
Ethan's POV
He lingered a moment longer, watching her, memorizing the way the moonlight kissed her skin and the sadness hollowed her shoulders.
Then he did the hardest thing he'd done in years.
He walked away.