Ch. 16: Ghost Don't Always Knock

[Riven (POV)]

I wasn't expecting visitors.

I was halfway through folding laundry in the living room—Kael's old hoodie draped around his shoulders, smelling like too many kisses and sleep—when the knock came.

Three sharp raps.

Then a pause.

Then two more.

He frowned. Kael was in the shower. He figured maybe it was a delivery or a nosy neighbor. He opened the door without checking.

Big mistake.

The woman on the other side had perfect lipstick, ice-blonde hair, and an expensive bag clutched in one manicured hand.

And a familiar face.

"You're not Kael," she said flatly, eyes scanning him like a glitch she couldn't process.

"And you are?" Riven replied, cold.

She stepped inside without permission.

"Hey, what the—?"

"I'm Alyssa. Kael's ex."

Riven blinked. "I didn't ask."

She raised an eyebrow. "Cute. Is this what he's into now?"

"Excuse me?"

"Messy hair. Coffee stains on your shirt. No offense, but you're not exactly what I expected."

Riven crossed his arms, jaw tightening. "And yet, here you are."

Before he could say more, Kael appeared—still drying his hair with a towel, shirtless, confusion freezing on his face the second he saw her.

"Alyssa?"

"Kael," she said, voice syrupy sweet. "Nice place. Quaint."

Kael stepped forward instinctively, one hand brushing Riven's back in a silent apology.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was in town. Thought I'd drop by. You never answered my texts."

"There's a reason for that."

She ignored it. "I saw your mom. She told me you were... seeing someone."

Her eyes flicked to Riven.

Fucking great.

Kael's voice was even, but tight. "Yeah. I am."

There was a silence then—heavy, awkward.

Alyssa finally broke it. "I thought maybe we could talk. Alone."

Kael hesitated.

Riven stepped back. "It's cool. I'll give you space."

Kael caught his wrist. "No. You stay."

Riven blinked. "You sure?"

Kael looked him in the eyes. "Yeah."

Alyssa huffed. "So I have to pour my heart out with your boyfriend watching?"

Kael's tone sharpened. "Then don't pour anything at all."

She scoffed but sat anyway, perfectly composed, like she was posing for a magazine spread.

"I just wanted to see you," she said. "I never got closure."

"We broke up almost a year ago, Alyssa."

"I know. And I was stupid. I chose what was easy. You weren't easy. You were real."

Kael sat on the armrest of the couch, fingers clenching. "That's not fair."

"Why?"

"Because you don't get to show up after all this time and pretend like you didn't rip me apart."

Riven stared at him, stunned. This was a side of Kael he'd never seen—raw, exposed.

Kael kept going.

"I told you things I'd never told anyone. I let you in. And you used it against me. You ran when I needed you the most."

Alyssa's eyes glistened. "I didn't know how to love someone like you."

"And now you do?"

She hesitated.

"That's what I thought."

Kael stood. "I'm happy now. Really fucking happy. And I don't need you dragging ghosts into this house."

Alyssa stood, visibly trying to compose herself. "He doesn't know everything about you."

Kael's voice dropped. "But he wants to. And that makes all the difference."

She looked between them—Kael's steady eyes, Riven's protective stance.

Then she left without another word.

—

The silence after was loud.

Kael stared at the door, chest rising and falling too fast.

Riven walked up behind him, wrapping arms around his waist. "You okay?"

Kael nodded. "Yeah. Just... old scars."

"She hurt you."

"Worse. She saw me... and still left."

Riven pulled him in tighter. "Well, fuck her for that. Because I see you too. And I'm not fucking going anywhere."

Kael laughed a little, voice rough. "Why are you always the one picking me up?"

"Because I've been broken too. And I know how it feels when someone chooses to stay."

Kael turned to face him. "You sure I'm worth that?"

Riven kissed him—slow, deep, with a kind of fierceness that said you don't even know how much.

"You're worth everything."

And Kael melted into him, arms locking around his neck like a lifeline.

For the first time, Riven realized—

This wasn't just about being in love.

This was about healing each other.

And nothing—no past, no ex, no ghost—could get in the way of that.