Back in America, during the vibrant chaos of high school and the focused pressure of college life, two people existed side by side, never quite together, but never fully apart either.
You were the bright, determined junior. Always seated by the window with a psychology book in your hand, always observing, always thinking. Everyone knew you were going places. There was a quiet fire in your eyes, one that said you weren't here to blend in, but to rise.
He was the senior- Elijah.
Calm. Composed. The kind of man who didn't need to speak loudly to command attention. Everything about him was magnetic: his drive, his intelligence, his raw charisma. You noticed him from the very first day, and even though you barely exchanged more than nods or brief glances during student events or library hours, something lingered in the air between you, unspoken, heavy, impossible to ignore.
Neither of you ever admitted how often you thought about the other. You were too focused on becoming a clinical psychologist, too wrapped in case studies, research papers, and fieldwork. Elijah, meanwhile, was working on launching his own venture, even back then, he was already dreaming big, of building something global, something lasting.
And so… nothing was ever said.
Then came Alarias.
He was your classmate in college, brilliant, ambitious, and strangely intuitive. He had a charm that wasn't loud but persistent. While Elijah observed from afar, Alarias leaned in. He noticed the way your brows furrowed when deep in thought. He remembered the way you took your coffee, always slightly too strong.
And unlike Elijah, Alarias spoke.
He confessed his feelings right before graduation, no games, no dramatics. Just vulnerability. It wasn't the kind of crush that fades with a semester. It was real. Sincere. But it came too late… because your heart had long been anchored elsewhere.
You turned him down gently, yet clearly. And that was the last you heard of Alarias.
Until much later.
Years Later… A City of Second Chances
Time moved on.
You graduated with honors, got your PhD, and slowly built your name as a renowned clinical psychologist. Your calm presence, your fierce intellect, and your unshakable empathy made you a quiet icon in your field.
Elijah? He became exactly what everyone predicted, a billionaire CEO, owner of one of the fastest-growing firms in America. His name was everywhere - Forbes, tech summits, global magazines.
But despite the success, there was always an ache. A missing piece.
And then… fate stepped in.
One ordinary evening in Los Angeles, in a small downtown coffee shop you frequented after work, it happened. It was a rainy day.
You were flipping through notes on your phone, mentally preparing for a guest lecture, when a familiar voice gently interrupted~
"Didn't think I'd find you here… or find you at all."
You looked up and time froze.
"Elijah"
Older. Sharper. Even more devastatingly handsome. But his eyes? They were exactly the same. Intense. Warm. Focused entirely on you.
There was a beat of silence.
And then you smiled. A soft, knowing smile.
You didn't ask how he'd been because you already knew. And he didn't ask if you were happy because he could see it in your eyes. But the questions neither of you ever dared ask in college? They were still there, simmering just beneath the surface.
He sat with you that day. For two hours, maybe more. The conversation flowed like it had been waiting to escape for years. He laughed at your dry humor. You rolled your eyes at his relentless work ethic. And when it was time to leave, he didn't hesitate.
"Go out with me," he said simply.
"This time, I'm not waiting for the perfect moment."
Your heart flipped, not from surprise, but from something deeper… recognition.
You didn't need time to think.
"Yes," you said. "I've been waiting too long not to."
And just like that, the story that was once paused but finally began again.