Ghost D

Your parents never gave you a choice. For as long as you could remember, you spent summers at the Rileys' house because your mother and Simon's mother were inseparable. It was a habit for you: having breakfast together, running through the same gardens, arguing over silly things. Simon was always there, quiet, stubborn, a shadow that never felt special to you. Your mothers said they were "best friends," but you never believed it. And when you grew up, not even then. He started to attract attention, but to you, he was still "just Simon."

Until you left. After high school, you packed your bags and crossed borders. Years passed, you grew up, you built a life far away. And now you were back.

The welcoming party was filled with lights and voices celebrating your return. You greeted them politely, until you saw him. Simon. He wasn't the boy you remembered: tall, broad shoulders, hard gaze. There was something about him that commanded, something that disarmed you. And when his eyes met yours, the air changed.

He approached with a glass in his hand. “So you came back,” he murmured in a deep voice.

“Are you surprised?”

“Yes. And no,” he replied, his eyes lingering on your dress. “I knew you’d come back.”

The rest was an invisible game: touches, glances, sharp words. No one noticed, but the tension between you grew like a contained fire. And when you were finally alone, the silence exploded. He cornered you against the door, his gaze fixed on yours, and everything you'd never seen in Simón was revealed in an instant.

“You were always mine,” he whispered, his voice broken, “and you didn’t even know it.”