Chapter 2 - The Years Between
1. Emily’s First Year in New York – "The Almost Text"
The city was louder than Emily expected. Skyscrapers swallowed the sky, and her tiny Brooklyn apartment rattled every time the subway passed beneath it. But she loved it, the chaos, the anonymity, the way no one here knew her as "quiet Emily from Ohio."
One rainy October night, curled up with Pride and Prejudice (her comfort read), her phone buzzed. A Facebook notification:
Daniel Wright tagged you in a post.
Her pulse spiked. She clicked it.
It was an old photo from their high school English project, a silly meme he’d shared with the caption, "Throwback to when my partner carried my grade. MissYouEm"
A joke. Just a joke. But her fingers trembled as she typed a reply, then deleted it. Then typed again.
"You wish. You totally aced that presentation."
She stared at the screen for an hour. He never responded.
(She didn’t know he’d panicked and deleted the post five minutes after tagging her.)
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2. Daniel’s Engagement Party – "The Wrong Girl"
Daniel’s fiancée, Rachel, was perfect on paper. Cheerful, ambitious, loved his family. But when she gushed over wedding venue options, all he could think was: Emily would’ve rolled her eyes at this ballroom’s chandeliers.
At the party, held in a sunlit garden with trays of rose-flavored sherbet and spiced tea, his old soccer teammate Nate nudged him. "Dude, you look miserable."
Daniel forced a laugh. "Nah. Just tired."
Nate lowered his voice. "You ever think about…"
"Don’t."
But that night, Daniel dug through an old shoebox of high school mementos. A folded note fell out. Emily’s half of their English project draft, covered in her cramped handwriting.
He fell asleep at his desk, head resting beside it.
(He called off the engagement three months later, realizing his heart was never truly in it.)
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3. The Almost Reunion - "Two Feet Apart"
Emily hated hometown holidays. The pitying "Still single?" from aunts, the way her parents’ house still smelled like her childhood bedroom, like nostalgia and lost things.
But when her mom dragged her to the town tree-lighting ceremony, she froze.
There. Ten feet away. Daniel, laughing as a little girl (his niece?) tugged at his coat sleeve.
Her breath fogged in the cold. She could’ve called his name.
Instead, she turned and vanished into the crowd.
(He thought he saw her. Convinced himself it wasn’t her.)
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4. The Breaking Point – "The Unsent Letters"
Year 9 Apart
Emily’s journal, buried in her nightstand:
"Dear Daniel,
I saw your LinkedIn update. Senior Marketing Manager. I always knew you’d be great at…" [scribbled out]
"Dear Daniel,
Remember when you said Mr. Darcy ‘wasn’t totally the worst’? I found a first edition of P&P at a flea market today and…" [torn page]
Daniel’s Notes app, 3AM:
"Em…
Chicago’s freezing. You’d hate it. (You’d also hate my sad takeout habit.) Remember that food cart where we…" [deleted]
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5. The Reunion – "Finally"
The bell above the coffee shop door chimed. Emily barely glanced up until she heard that voice.
"Uh. Large black coffee, please."
Her head snapped toward the counter.
Daniel.
Older. Broader shoulders. A scar above his eyebrow she didn’t recognize. But his smile when he caught her staring, that was the same.
For a heartbeat, neither moved. Then…
"You’re back," he said softly.
She gripped her cup too tight. "You’re here."
(The barista had to remind them to move out of the line.)
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Daniel's fingers tightened around his coffee cup as Emily smiled at him, really smiled for the first time in ten years. The afternoon sunlight streaming through the café windows made her eyes glow like honey, just like he remembered.
"So you're an editor now?" he asked, leaning forward.
"At Gold Pen Publishing," she nodded, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her hijab. "We specialize in…"
A shrill ringtone cut her off. Daniel frowned at his buzzing phone. Unknown Number.
Emily watched as his face went pale. "Daniel? What's wrong?"
He stood so abruptly his chair screeched. "I, I have to go. My father's in the hospital."
(Neither of them noticed the woman in the corner taking photos of their reunion on her phone.)
That night, Emily's phone lit up with a forwarded message from an unknown sender.
"Stay away from Daniel Wright. Or everyone will know what you did senior year."
Attached was a blurred photo of 17-year-old Emily...
Standing outside the principal's office the day Daniel's soccer scholarship almost got revoked.
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Hello everyone!
I’m Han, a new writer here [and yes, I totally forgot to introduce myself earlier!] 😅
I just posted my first short story (a romance, which is new territory for me!), and someone already gave it a like. That tiny heart means the world to me, it’s enough encouragement to dive into Chapter 2!
Since this is my first time writing romance, I’m both nervous and excited. But your support makes all the difference. I hope you’ll enjoy the next part too. Let me know what you think. Feedback is gold!
Thank you for reading,
Han ♡
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