Daniel Brooks hadn't planned for his past to slam into him in the middle of a dingy apartment hallway.
When he followed Mrs. Greene up the cracked stairs of the building, he'd been focused on numbers—rent, square footage, utilities. His company had transferred him to this town in New York a week ago, and finding a place to live had felt like the most important task on his list. Nothing more.
But then he heard her voice.
That voice.
He turned, and for a split second, the years fell away.
Olivia Parker.
At first, he thought his mind was playing tricks on him. The Olivia in his memories existed in another lifetime—a girl who laughed too loudly at his terrible jokes, who once promised she loved him, who later shattered his trust with a betrayal he'd never forgotten.
But she was real. Flesh and blood, right there in front of him, pushing a stroller down the hallway like some cruel joke the universe had set up.
Daniel's stomach lurched as his gaze dropped to the stroller. A baby boy blinked up at her with wide eyes, tiny hands waving in the air. Olivia leaned over, tucking the blanket closer to him, her expression soft and tender in a way that once belonged to Daniel alone.
His throat tightened.
She had a baby.
He hadn't expected that. For years, he'd pictured her moving on, maybe dating someone new, maybe even marrying. But to see her like this—motherhood wrapped around her like a second skin—knocked the air right out of him.
Olivia's eyes finally met his.
Recognition flared instantly. Shock. Fear. Something else he couldn't name. She froze, one hand gripping the stroller like it was a lifeline.
Daniel felt his chest constrict, the memory of betrayal crashing back in vivid flashes—the text messages he wasn't meant to see, the excuses she'd fed him, the final confession that yes, she had been with someone else.
That wound had cut deep, and now here she was, salt on the scar.
Olivia looked away first. She gripped the stroller tighter and hurried down the hall, her shoulders tense, her pace brisk. The baby fussed, and she bent to soothe him without sparing Daniel another glance.
Gone. Just like that.
Daniel stood rooted to the spot, the sound of her retreating footsteps echoing in his ears. His jaw tightened until it ached.
So that was it. No greeting, no acknowledgment, not even his name on her lips. She had erased him, tucked him neatly into the past like he was nothing more than a mistake she regretted.
A bitter laugh threatened to escape, but he swallowed it down. Of course. That's Olivia Parker for you.
"Mr. Brooks?"
Mrs. Greene's cheerful voice cut through the fog in his mind. She gestured to the open apartment door beside them. "Would you like to see the unit?"
Daniel dragged in a breath, forcing his thoughts back into order. He nodded stiffly. "Yeah. Let's see it."
The apartment was small but serviceable. A modest living room with sunlight streaming through dusty blinds. Two bedrooms with hardwood floors that creaked underfoot. A kitchen that smelled faintly of fresh paint. Nothing fancy, but it was better than half the places he'd toured.
Still, Daniel barely registered any of it. His mind replayed Olivia's face over and over again—the wide eyes, the way she'd bolted, the baby in her arms.
Her baby.
He rubbed his temple as Mrs. Greene rattled on about the new countertops and included utilities. Her words blurred in his ears, muffled by the weight pressing against his chest.
He walked into the smaller bedroom, leaned against the doorframe, and let out a harsh breath.
Out of all the towns in New York, all the buildings, all the apartments—fate had decided to plant him here. Next door to the woman who had betrayed him. Next door to the ghost of everything he thought he'd left behind.
It felt like a cruel joke.
And yet… walking away wasn't in him.
For years, Daniel had been the one who left, the one who tried to outrun memories, the one who told himself he was fine while burying the sting of her betrayal under work and meaningless nights out. And now, here was a chance to prove something to himself.
He wasn't the man who ran anymore.
Mrs. Greene smiled patiently. "Would you like some time to think about it?"
Daniel turned toward the window, staring at the street below. The hum of traffic drifted in faintly. Life outside went on, oblivious to the storm brewing in his chest.
Maybe Olivia had moved on. Maybe she had a husband somewhere. Maybe that child—Ethan, she'd whispered—was proof that she had built a life without him.
But Daniel wasn't about to give her the satisfaction of thinking he couldn't handle seeing her again.
He straightened, his decision solidifying with each passing second.
"No," he said, his voice calm, steady. "I'll take it."
Mrs. Greene's smile widened. "Wonderful! I'll prepare the paperwork this evening. You'll be settled in no time."
As she scribbled notes in her pad, Daniel walked once more into the living room, running his fingers along the edge of the window frame. He pictured the place filled with his things, imagined building a life here, imagined proving—to himself, maybe even to her—that Olivia Parker no longer had power over him.
Still, his reflection in the glass looked back at him with doubt in its eyes.
"All right then," he muttered under his breath, almost a challenge. "You wanted me out of your life, Olivia. But now I'm here. Right next door. Let's see how you handle that."
And just like that, Daniel Brooks decided to rent the apartment. His new beginning would start in the one place he least expected—right beside the woman who had once broken him.