2025-06-16 17:56:23Caleb jogged up the three flights of stairs to the apartment he paid for but rarely slept in, a small smile playing on his lips. The scent of cheap air freshener and old takeout clung to the hallway, but it was a scent he associated with Cathy, and for him, that made it home.
He pushed the door open. “Cath? I’m back.”
Cathy was perched on the edge of the sofa, her phone glowing against her face. She looked up, her perfectly glossed lips tightening for a fraction of a second before melting into a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. “Hey, you.”
“Long day,” Caleb said, dropping his delivery bag by the door. He moved towards her, wanting to sink into the couch and feel the day’s exhaustion seep away next to her. “Smells like you ordered Chinese chicken. You save any for me?”
“Oh, sorry, babe. It’s all gone.” She tucked a strand of her sleek, dark hair behind her ear, her gaze flickering back to her phone.
“No worries.” He sat beside her, the springs groaning in protest. “So, you’re all set for Jessica’s party tonight?”
Her fingers stilled on the screen. “Yeah, almost. Just figuring out what to wear.” She finally put the phone down, turning to face him. “It’s just going to be us girls, you know. A proper catch-up.”
“I know, I know. ‘Friends alone’ party,” he said, mimicking her earlier tone with a soft grin. “I just wish I could see you all dressed up.” He walked over to the small, wobbly table where he kept his savings tin. He pried the lid off and tipped the contents into his hand—a roll of bills he had been painstakingly saving for weeks, skipping lunches and taking every extra delivery he could get. He walked back to her and pressed the money into her hand. All of it. Five hundred dollars.
Cathy’s eyes widened as she looked at the cash. “Baby, why are you giving me this? Will you have anything left on you?” She looked at him, her brow furrowed in a convincing display of concern. “What about dinner?” she asked.
“Don’t worry. You first,” he said softly, his thumb brushing the back of her hand. “Use this to get yourself something good to wear and get Jessica a nice gift.”
He leaned in to kiss her goodbye, but she turned her head slightly, offering her cheek. He took it without complaint and headed for the door, grabbing his helmet. “I’ve got a late chicken delivery. I’ll see you in a few days.”
The moment the door clicked shut and the sound of his delivery bike faded down the street, Cathy’s face soured. She glanced down at the money in her hand, her lip curling in disgust.
“Mtcheew” she hissed to the empty room, her voice dripping with scorn. “What will five hundred dollars do? it won't even get me a dress not to talk of gift, useless Asshole.” She tossed the money into her designer handbag
and wheeled her suitcase out the door
---
That night, the exclusive Veredale Skye Club pulsed with neon light and deep bass, a private party for the city’s young elite. But the energy faltered when a section of lights sputtered and died, casting the VIP lounge in an inconvenient darkness.
Tony Callahan, handsome and impeccably dressed, ran an agitated hand through his hair. “What the fuck is this On my wedding night?..
Kael.....call the electrician as soon as possible”
Kael “he said it's too late, he won't be able to come” angry tony got up and wanted to hit Kael but Daniel interrupted
“Bro, chill, don’t worry,” Daniel said, phone already in hand. “I have someone I can call to come fix it. He does different jobs, but when I call him, he’ll come as soon as possible.”
Tony scoffed. “Is he that desperate? It’s late. Nobody will come fix this now, take my electrician for example.”
Daniel just smiled. “I got you.” He dialed a number. “Caleb? Hey man, it’s Daniel… Yeah, listen, I’ve got an urgent job. Electrical issue at a club downtown, quite the distance from where you are but They’ll pay well. Really well can you come as soon as possible?.”
On the other side of the city, Caleb, finishing his last delivery, didn’t hesitate. The venue was far, but the promise of good pay was a siren call. He needed to build his savings back up, for Cathy.
He arrived on his bike less than an hour later, weaving through the fleet of luxury cars parked outside. Daniel, looking sharp in a tailored suit, met him at the service entrance.
“I knew I could rely on you, man. Come on,” he said, leading Caleb through a corridor that vibrated with the party’s energy. He pointed to a panel behind a large decorative board. “It’s that one.”
As Caleb got to work, his tools laid out on the floor, the party’s MC took the main stage, his voice booming over the speakers.
“Alright, Veredale! Let’s give a massive round of applause for the new couple, Mr. and Mrs. Tony Callahan!”
The crowd erupted. Caleb smiled to himself, continuing his work. In the background, a woman’s voice shrieked with excitement.
“Go Cathy! You made a beautiful bride today!”
Caleb chuckled under his breath, splicing two wires together. *I guess déjà vu is real,* he thought. *Just when I was thinking about her, someone calls her name.* He plugged the last wire in, and the lounge flickered back to brilliant life. He packed up and went to find Daniel.
“I’ve finished the job,” he said, standing awkwardly in his black boots and worn workshop clothes amidst the sea of designer outfits.
“I knew you would do a great job!” Daniel clapped him on the shoulder. “Hold on for the event before you go.”
“No, I need to hurry back for another job,” Caleb lied, suddenly eager to get home to the quiet apartment.
“Okay, wait here for just a while.” Daniel turned to get the payment, and Caleb, out of habit, turned to join the crowd in applauding the couple who were now descending the stage.
And then he saw her. His girlfriend. Cathy. She was standing in the center of the club hall , a vision in a white, floor-length gown that shimmered under the chandeliers. Her hair was swept into an elegant updo, and a diamond necklace glittered at her throat. A handsome, suave-looking man stood beside her, his arm wrapped possessively around her waist.
They were laughing, raising their glasses in a toast with their guests.
“Cathy?” he mouthed, the name a silent shock on his lips.
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221
The night had folded softly over Varadele; a silver calm stretched across the city where the Callahan–Fiona Foundation stood, steady and luminous in the dark.Inside, most of the lights were dimmed; only the top floors still glowed faintly, like the last embers of a long day refusing to die out.Aimee sat alone in her office; the documents on her desk looked untouched, though she had been staring at them for hours. The room smelled faintly of coffee and rain. Beyond the glass wall, the city pulsed in quiet rhythm; headlights streaked the wet roads below, dissolving into the night.Her fingers toyed with the edge of a pen, but her mind was somewhere else—on Kasper’s voice, steady and low, echoing from earlier that evening.Welcome aboard, he had said, and something in the way he said it had unsettled her calm. It wasn’t his tone; it was the warmth beneath it, the sincerity he didn’t try to hide.She hadn’t realized how long she’d been staring at nothing until the door clicked open behi
220
The archives of the Callahan–Fiona Foundation were a study in organized chaos, a labyrinth of white files and black binders housed deep beneath the main corporate tower. Aimee sat at a large mahogany table, the only light source a small, focused lamp casting a yellow pool over the documents. She was officially reviewing the pre-merger humanitarian expenditures, a task she had volunteered for to better understand the groundwork of the organization. However, her true search was for echoes of the past, for any mention of the woman whose presence in her life had always been a ghost, the worst part of it is even the woman whom she thought was her mother that she was working for turns out to be her mother's friend pretending to her mother so she thought it's best to find more details of what her mother did in the past in order not to make any mistake Aimee turned the page of an annual report from nearly two decades ago, her fingers brushing the brittle paper. The early sections detailed th
219
The morning sun poured through the tall windows of Varadele University, tinting the lecture hall in a soft golden hue. The air buzzed with anticipation. Students, journalists, and scholars filled every seat, some standing at the back, holding cameras or notepads.At the center of the stage stood Dr. Diana Callahan, her silver-streaked hair neatly tied back, her white suit immaculate. She looked poised, but her heart was pounding in a rhythm that echoed both nostalgia and fulfillment.Today marked the end of an era — her final lecture before retirement. The announcement that she would be awarded dual honorary doctorates in Medicine and Ethics had spread across the world. She was now the first woman in Varadele’s history to hold both honors simultaneously.Caleb sat quietly in the front row, a familiar figure among the audience. His posture was relaxed, but his eyes followed every move she made. Time had left gentle marks on his face — faint lines at the corners of his eyes, silver at h
218
Months later A car rolled up the long driveway, its headlights cutting through the mist. Diana, who had been standing by the large bay window of the living room, froze when she recognized the way the door opened lslow, deliberate, cautious.And then, there he was.KJ.He stood under the drizzle, a duffel bag slung over one shoulder, his coat soaked, his expression unreadable. The boy who had once run from the shadows now looked like he had walked through them and come out on the other side — older, leaner, and quiet in a way that only pain could teach.For a moment, Diana didn’t move. Then she stepped outside, the rain touching her hair and shoulders.He looked up and met her eyes.“You’re late,” she said softly, trying to hide the quiver in her voice.He smiled faintly. “Traffic was bad,” he murmured and it was such an ordinary answer that Diana couldn’t help it; she let out a small, shaky laugh.They stood there for a long while before she whispered, “He’s inside.”KJ nodded. “I k
217
Diana stood slowly. For the first time in the conversation, she spoke without an edge of control. “Does Aimee know any of this? Does she know who you are?”Cathy’s throat closed. She exhaled with a sound that was closer to grief than to breath. “yes She does . but I could not bring myself to tell her. I thought it kinder to step away. That was the second cowardice. She doesn’t know the real me.”Caleb’s hand, when he reached for the small paper cup, trembled. He had the impression that Cathy’s confession was a wall being dismantled brick by brick that each brick had the grain of a life’s worth of choices. He also felt the precise, simple fact that a human life had been kept from his family’s knowledge.“You should have told us,” Kasper said, voice low. “We could have done something.”“You could have been destroyed,” Cathy whispered. “I could not risk that. I thought silence was shelter.” She laughed a short, humorless laugh. “Shelter for me. Not for you.”For a long while there was on
216
. At night it had been a place of hushed machines and the faint scent of disinfectant. In the morning it was a place where the light came through the high windows and showed dust on the sills, where the cleaners’ carts crept quietly down the hall and the staff moved with rehearsed efficiency. The quiet was less menacing by day; it felt practical and ordinary.Cathy sat in the visitor chair by the small table in the hospital room. The IV drip beside her made a soft, methodical sound. She had declined the offered hospital gown and instead had a plain sweater pulled close to her throat. The skin at her temples was thin; she kept her hands folded in her lap. She had the posture of someone who had learned to make herself small in public. The bruise marks at the line of her wrist from the hospital band were almost faded now.Caleb was awake. He had insisted on seeing her again before she left. He watched her without speaking. Diana hovered near the doorway, her face unreadable. The twins ha
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