hapter 17 Perhaps a fresh
beginning?
“I’m not stalking you, Ashley. I’m making sure you’re safe. You shouldn’t be wandering around these streets at this hour, especially not alone.”
It was then I noticed the small, discreet leather band around his wrist, just under his sleeve. A subtle scent blocker. “Then why the precaution, Bradley, if you’re not following me? You could easily just… let me know you’re around.”
His face hardened, the usual mask of control. slipping into something sharper. “Would you let me keep an eye on you if you knew I was nearby?”
I paused, the honest answer sitting
1/8
I threw my hands up, too drained to argue further. I walked past him without another word, heading straight for my apartment.
Once inside, I tossed my bag on the chair near the window, glancing out of sheer curiosity. Bradley was still outside, standing by the streetlamp, scanning the surroundings like a predator keeping watch over its domain.
Then, much to my shock, he entered the building directly across from mine.
Wait–had he been living across the street this entire time?
A wave of confusing emotions washed over me as I watched his figure vanish behind the door.
Ping! Ping!
3/8
My phone vibrated in my bag. I half–expected it to be a message from Bradley, but the number was unfamiliar.
[Ashley. it’s Hallie.]
I stared at the screen, not completely surprised that she had found a way to contact me, but curious as to why she was reaching out now. We hadn’t spoken since that blowout at the private room in the Martin Club… until tonight.
I opened the message, curiosity getting the best of me.
[I’m writing to apologize for what happened before. For the mess I caused.]
[I thought I could push you out, that Bradley would finally notice me if you weren’t
4/8
around. But after you left, I realized how
wrong I was. Bradley never saw me the way I wanted him to. To him, I’ve always just been family.]
[He only cares about you.]
[I know it’s selfish, but if you still care about him, please forgive him. Don’t let what I’ve done drive a wedge between you two.]
I was stunned by her words, emotions. swirling inside me, unsure how to feel.
Just then, I heard a soft knock at my door, the sound barely audible over the night.
I moved to the door and opened it cautiously. Bradley stood there, still in his usual
understated attire, holding a small chain of silver bells, the kind you might attach to a bag or even a wrist.
5/8
“For your protection,” he said quietly, extending the bells toward me. His voice was steady, but there was an edge of vulnerability in his eyes. “It’ll make it easier for me to keep track of you in case anything happens.”
He paused, his fingers brushing mine as I took the bells. “Or better yet, wear it on your wrist. You’ll always have it with you.”
For the first time in what felt like forever, I saw something in Bradley’s expression–something softer, more genuine. It was a glimpse of the Bradley I used to know, the one. who sat at the corner of my favorite café every night. He’d sit there, pretending to read the paper, when in truth, he just wanted to be close. Even when life around us spun out of control, he found a way to anchor himself to me.
6/8
My mind drifted to those quiet evenings, the hum of the espresso machine in the background, the warmth of the dim lights casting a glow over us. He’d wait until I was done with my shift, even when I’d brush him off or pretend I didn’t notice. His persistence, the way he seemed to understand me
without words–it was how we fell into each other’s orbit. That time, those small gestures, they meant everything, even if neither of us could say it out loud.
But now… things were different. Bradley had become so much colder, his actions more calculated. I’d started to forget the softness in him.
Yet, as I looked at him now, holding the small bells with such care, I saw a flicker of what
we once were.
7/8
I smiled, despite everything. Maybe things had changed, and maybe we were standing on the edge of something broken, but there was still that part of us–of him–that hadn’t been lost.
Australia. Could it offer us a new beginning? Maybe the chaos of the past didn’t have to be our future. Maybe… just maybe, there was still a chance to find our way back.
A small smile tugged at my lips despite everything.
The End.
