The distance didn't return.
Riyana tried.
Of course she did.
The next morning,
She walked into the office with the same plan.
Same rules.
Same control.
No eye contact.
No unnecessary interaction.
No… anything.
But something felt different.
Because this time
She wasn't sure she believed those rules anymore.
"Riyana."
Her steps slowed.
That voice,
Still did something to her.
She turned.
Bosco stood near his cabin.
Looking at her.
Not distant.
Not cold.
Just… certain.
"Come here."
No hesitation this time.
She walked toward him.
Inside the cabin, the door closed softly behind her.
For a second,
Neither spoke.
Riyana kept her eyes on the table.
Trying to hold onto something,
Anything
That would keep her grounded.
It didn't work.
"Look at me."
Her breath slowed slightly.
Then she did.
And immediately,
She felt it.
That same pull.
But this time
It didn't scare her as much.
Bosco stepped closer.
Not rushing.
Not cornering.
Just enough.
"I'm not doing this again," he said.
Her brows furrowed slightly. "What?"
"Letting you walk away from something that's clearly not nothing."
Her heart skipped.
"Bosco"
"No," he cut in, not harshly. "Listen."
There was something different in his voice.
Not frustration.
Not confusion.
Clarity.
"I gave you space," he continued.
"I stepped back."
"I did exactly what you wanted."
A pause.
"And it didn't change anything."
Riyana didn't respond.
Because she knew,
He was right.
"It didn't make this go away," he said quietly.
Her breath caught slightly.
"And it didn't make you unaffected either."
That
That hit directly.
Riyana looked away.
"I don't want to go back to pretending," he added.
Silence.
Then,
Softly,
"Neither do I."
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Bosco noticed.
Of course he did.
A small shift in his expression.
Not surprised.
Something softer.
"Then don't," he said.
Riyana looked back at him.
"Don't what?"
"Don't run."
The words were simple.
But they landed heavily.
"I'm not asking you to ignore your past," he continued.
"I'm not asking you to trust me blindly."
A step closer.
"I'm just asking you to… stay."
Her breath slowed.
Not because she was calm.
But because something inside her,
she was finally quiet.
For the first time,
It didn't feel like pressure.
Or fear.
It felt like… choice.
And that was new.
"What if it goes wrong?" she asked softly.
"It might," he replied honestly.
That made her pause.
"But that doesn't mean it's not worth it."
Riyana held his gaze.
Searching.
For doubt.
For hesitation.
For anything that would make this easier to refuse.
She didn't find it.
"Why are you so sure?" she asked.
Bosco exhaled quietly.
"I'm not," he said.
A small pause.
"But I'm sure about one thing."
Her heart picked up again.
"You matter."
The words were quiet.
But they stayed.
Riyana felt something shift again.
Not sudden.
Not overwhelming.
Just…
Real.
Her defenses—
The ones she had built so carefully—
They didn't disappear.
But they softened.
Just enough.
"Okay," she said.
Bosco stilled.
"Okay?" he repeated.
Riyana nodded slightly.
"Okay… I'll stay."
The moment settled between them.
Not dramatic.
Not loud.
But meaningful.
Because
This was her choice.
And it changed everything.
The days after felt different.
Lighter.
Not because the tension was gone.
But because it wasn't being fought anymore.
"Coffee?" Bosco asked one morning, standing near her desk.
Riyana looked up.
A small smile was forming without her realizing.
"Depends," she said. "Is this professional?"
Bosco raised a brow slightly.
"Very."
A pause.
"Extremely," he added.
She smiled a little more this time.
"Then okay."
And just like that
Something new began.
It wasn't obvious.
No big announcements.
No dramatic changes.
But in the small moments,
It was there.
The way he stood a little closer than before.
The way she didn't step away.
The way their conversations stretched just a little longer than necessary.
The way was silence between them
Didn't feel uncomfortable anymore.
One evening,
They walked out of the office together.
Not planned.
Not discussed.
Just… happened.
"You're not trying to escape today," Bosco said lightly.
Riyana glanced at him.
"Maybe I'm tired of running."
A small pause.
"Good," he said.
She didn't respond.
But her steps slowed slightly
Matching his.
And that
That said enough.
Because for the first time
Riyana wasn't thinking about what could go wrong.
She wasn't replaying her past.
She wasn't building walls.
She was just
There.
In the moment.
And surprisingly
She liked it.
A lot more than she expected.