The Storm That Was Always There

Chapter 42: The Storm That Was Always There

The moment Evelyn stepped out of Ethan's office, she felt her knees nearly give out. She had held her head high through their confrontation, her voice calm, her eyes cold—but inside, everything was shaking.

She thought she was done feeling anything for him.

But the way he had looked at her—like he still cared, like he was still hurting—tore at a part of her she had buried deep.

"Don't look back," she whispered to herself, walking straight toward the elevator.

Yet she didn't know that Ethan hadn't moved at all.

He stood there, fists clenched at his sides, staring at the closed door she had just walked through. The air between them still carried the heat of everything they left unsaid.

His phone buzzed. His assistant's voice came through.

"Sir, the meeting with the investors is ready."

He didn't answer. Not immediately.

Instead, he walked to the window, looking down at the streets below.

"Why now?" he muttered to himself. "Why does she still make everything else feel meaningless?"

—

That night, Evelyn returned to the apartment—her last night there. The movers would come tomorrow. Everything would be packed, gone, erased.

She stood in the living room, staring at the contract she had signed. The one that had brought them together. The one that had protected them. The one that had destroyed them.

A knock came on the door.

She turned sharply, heart racing. For a second, she hoped it wasn't him.

And then she prayed it was.

The door opened slowly. Ethan stood there, soaked from the sudden rain, eyes locked on hers.

"Don't leave," he said quietly. "Not yet."

Evelyn's breath caught. "Why?"

He stepped forward, something raw and unguarded in his voice.

"Because I'm not ready to lose you again. And maybe—just maybe—we were both wrong from the start."

Silence stretched between them. Then a thunder cracked behind the window, but the storm they both feared was already here.

And maybe it had always been inside them.