Zyroth

They were childhood best friends who became each other’s first love.

But one night, Adrian disappeared—without a word, without an explanation.

All he left behind was a box of letters that Evelyn never received.

Seven years later, she is engaged to another man, ready to start a new life.

Until Adrian returns.

Holding the letters.

And with them, the truth she was never meant to know.

Evelyn thought she had moved on. She thought she had healed. But when she finally reads the letters, she realizes—his disappearance was never a choice.

Someone had kept them apart.

Someone had hidden the truth.

And now, the past is unraveling, piece by piece.

But the closer she gets to the truth, the more she begins to wonder…

Some secrets were meant to stay buried.

And maybe, just maybe—loving him again will cost her everything.

A Thousand Letters Unsent

Chapter 4 – The Night He Disappeared

Evelyn gripped the letter in her hands.

Her heartbeat pounded in her ears. The words on the page shouldn't have mattered anymore. It had been seven years. She had convinced herself that Adrian was a part of her past.

But now, everything she believed was unraveling.

She looked up at him, eyes burning. "Tell me what happened."

Adrian didn't move. His fingers rested against the rim of his coffee cup, tense but controlled. Like he had waited for this moment.

"The night I left…" He exhaled slowly. "I didn't leave by choice."

She had imagined this conversation a thousand times. She had dreamed of screaming at him, demanding an explanation, telling him how much he had ruined her.

But now that it was happening, all she felt was fear.

"What do you mean?" she whispered.

Adrian's eyes met hers, and for the first time, she saw something she had never seen in him before.

Evelyn still remembered the last time she saw Adrian Hale.

It had been raining. She had been waiting outside his house, arms wrapped around herself, shivering in the cold.

They had plans—college applications, late-night drives, a future they had built together.

His house was dark. His phone was off.

And by the next morning—he was gone.

No messages. No goodbyes. Nothing.

She had searched for him. Called his parents, his friends—no one knew where he had gone.

And now, he was sitting in front of her, telling her he had never left by choice.

"That night," Adrian said, his voice low, "I was taken."

Adrian nodded. "I got a call. A blocked number. They told me to meet them behind the old train station—alone."

Adrian's jaw tightened. "Because they said they had information about my dad."

Adrian's father had died when they were sixteen. A car accident. Or at least, that's what everyone was told.

She never pushed him about it—he never liked talking about his father.

"What happened when you got there?" she asked.

Adrian leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "I waited for an hour. No one came. Then—" He hesitated. "—someone hit me from behind."

Evelyn's fingers curled around the edge of the table. "You were attacked?"

"I blacked out," Adrian continued. "When I woke up, I wasn't in Brookdale anymore."

Evelyn's throat went dry. "Where were you?"

"Somewhere I was never supposed to leave."

Evelyn shook her head. "No. That doesn't make sense. People disappear, Adrian. But not for seven years. Not without someone noticing."

"They made sure no one noticed," he said quietly.

Adrian hesitated, running a hand through his hair.

Evelyn stared at him in disbelief. "Seven years, and you don't know?"

Adrian clenched his fists. "I know they were watching me. Controlling what I could do. What I could say. And I know one more thing."

"They didn't want me anywhere near you."

Evelyn's breath came out unsteady.

"I don't know," he admitted. "But I'm going to find out."

The Letters She Was Never Meant to Read

Evelyn looked down at the stack of letters again.

Someone had stolen seven years of her life.

And now, she wasn't just searching for closure.

Slowly, she reached for another letter.

She had spent years trying to forget Adrian Hale.