Chapter 1
On my desk lay the résumé of the newly appointed director. The name "Adrian Shaw" jumped out at me.
I was thunderstruck.
Seriously? The guy who dumped me without a word three years ago—the one who made me leave my prom in tears—was now my direct supervisor?
One day, late at night, the vast office stood eerily quiet, with just the two of us left.
Adrian cornered me in the break room, his scorching breath fanning against my ear.
"Rachel Summers, you think it's funny to disappear without a trace?"
His fingertips, with all too familiar warmth, gently traced my cheek. His voice was a low, husky murmur.
"Have you ever... missed me these past three years? Even once?"
What was this supposed to be? A cat-and-mouse game? Hadn't he had enough of that?
"Guys, did you hear? The new director, sent straight from headquarters, is supposed to be a real tough cookie. Word is, he's here to clean house."
In the break room, Lily Parker leaned in and whispered conspiratorially.
I froze while holding a cup of coffee, as my heart gave a sudden lurch.
Clean house? What could they possibly do? We were just a small-time design firm.
"No way... Our boss worked so hard to build this team from the ground up," I said uneasily.
Lily pursed her lips. "Who knows? New brooms sweep clean. It's said he's a young and promising hunk, but he plays hardball."
Young, promising, hardball.
Those words kept echoing in my mind, filling me with a sudden, inexplicable irritation.
At 2 p.m., the company called for an all-hands meeting.
The atmosphere in the meeting room was tense; even the seasoned slackers sat bolt upright.
I sat quietly in the corner, watching as our boss escorted a tall, commanding figure into the room.
With the light behind him, I couldn't make out his face, but something about his silhouette felt strangely familiar. A faint sense of unease stirred within her.
As the man stepped in front of the presentation screen and turned around, his face was instantly recognizable under the overhead lights.
Adrian Shaw.
My mind went completely blank.
My blood ran cold, as if I had been thrown into a pool of ice.
God. How could it be him?
This man was the same Adrian who, back in my senior year of college, suddenly disappeared from my life without a trace without even so much as a word of explanation.
I had scoured every possible contact we shared and begged every mutual friend for answers, only to be told countless times that they had no idea, either.
It was as if he had vanished into thin air.
I honestly thought I'd never see him again in this lifetime.
But now, here he stood before me—impeccably suited, his expression cool and detached—as my new supervisor.
"Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Adrian Shaw. I'll be taking over as the new Director of the Design Department."
His voice was deeper and more unyielding than I remembered, yet it still effortlessly tugged at my heartstrings.
I instinctively ducked my head, terrified he'd recognize me.
But deep down, I jeered at myself, knowing that my fear would definitely come true.
Back then, our love had burned so bright. We were practically the legendary couple everyone on campus admired.
After finishing his introduction, Adrian glanced across the conference room. Then, with unnerving precision, his gaze locked onto my face.
In that instant, I felt stripped bare, completely exposed and with nowhere to hide.
His gaze held no flicker of recognition. He looked at me as if I were a total stranger.
Adrian asked, his tone deliberately professional and distant. "And this is...?"
Our boss quickly introduced me, "Oh, this is Rachel Summers, one of our most talented designers on the team."
"Rachel Summers," Adrian repeated my name, his voice curling slightly at the end with a subtle hint of amusement.
I gave a stiff nod, my throat suddenly parched, unable to force out a word.
I didn't catch a single word of the meeting because my mind was completely consumed by him.
Why was he here? Why did he disappear without a word back then? And now... What did he think of me?
A torrent of questions swarmed my mind, gnawing relentlessly at my sanity.
As soon as the meeting adjourned, I bolted out of the conference room before anyone else could, like a lost prey running for its life.
"Rachel Summers."
His voice came from behind me, neither too loud nor too soft, but with enough weight to root me to the spot.
I took a deep breath, forcing my voice to stay steady.
"Director Shaw, is there something you need?"
I turned around, keeping my gaze averted.
Adrian advanced toward me, step by step, his looming presence so suffocating that I could barely breathe.
"I've reviewed your design draft," he said, his tone unreadable. "Many aspects still fall short of expectations."
My heart sank.
Was this a personal vendetta, or did he genuinely think my work was subpar?
"You'll work overtime today. Don't leave until you've got it right," Adrian commanded, tossing the words over his shoulder as he strode past me and headed straight for his office.
I stood frozen in place, my fingers clenched so tightly that my nails nearly drew blood.
As the night wore on, one by one, everyone else left the office, until only Adrian and I remained.
The vast space was eerily quiet, with only the tapping of the keyboard and the hum of the air conditioner.
I buried myself in revising the design draft, but my mind simply refused to focus, no matter how hard I tried.
His presence loomed so large that even through the wall, I swore I could feel Adrian's piercing gaze on me.
At 11 p.m., I finally finished revising the design draft. My plan was to send it to Adrian and make a quick escape.
Suddenly, the door to Adrian's office swung open.
He stepped out of his office, coffee in hand. "Not done yet?"
"I... I just finished," I stammered, my voice faltering.
Adrian approached my workstation, leaning over my shoulder to peer at my screen.
His warm breath fanned against the nape of my neck, carrying the faint aroma of coffee and that unmistakable trace of his signature scent.
I instantly froze, my heart hammering wildly.
He was so close that I could distinctly smell the crisp, clean scent of his body wash. It was the exact same brand I'd given him all those years ago.
Was it just a coincidence? Or...
"Here," Adrian pointed at a detail on the screen, "it's still too conservative."
His fingertips inadvertently brushed against the back of my hand, sending a faint tingle through me.
I jerked my hand away as if scalded.
Adrian lifted his gaze to meet mine, his deep-set eyes appearing even more inscrutable in the dim glow of the office lights.
"Rachel," he spoke suddenly, his voice low and husky. "Three years. How have you been?"
I snapped my head up, my eyes locking with Adrian's complicated gaze.
His gaze held curiosity, scrutiny, and something else—an emotion I just couldn't read, no matter how hard I tried.
How had I been?
After he disappeared, for the past three years, I was like a walking corpse—graduating, working, just going through the motions, completely numb inside.
Every midnight, I was haunted by the sight of him leaving without a word.
"I'm perfectly fine," I heard myself reply, my voice unnervingly calm. "Thank you for asking, Director Shaw."
Adrian gave a low, enigmatic chuckle, his expression unreadable.
"Is that so?" He straightened up. "Well, that's just perfect."
With that, he turned around and retreated into his office.
Staring at the firmly shut door of his office, I felt a storm of emotions churn inside me.
What exactly did he want?
If we were just colleagues, why would Adrian even ask how I had been?
And if he still cared about me, why did he leave without saying goodbye?
Burning with unanswered questions, I bolted from the office.
Back home, I collapsed onto my bed, feeling completely drained.
My mind was a tangled mess; Adrian was all I could think about.
Frustrated, I snatched up my phone and tapped open that anonymous social media account.
I'd only recently stumbled across this account called Silent Voyager. Its posts were just cryptic musings, yet they always struck a chord with my deepest emotions.
Tonight, Silent Voyager posted another update.
[Is this reunion the beginning of punishment, or the prelude to redemption?]
My heart skipped a beat.
This post... It felt like it was talking directly about Adrian and me.
Could it be that Silent Voyager knew about me? Or Adrian?
The mere thought made my blood run cold, sending a shiver down my spine.