THE ONE THAT CAME BACK
I was thinking about him again—the one that got away. I shouldn’t have, I know. Every time I let my mind slip into the past, it leaves me feeling heavy. But today… today something unbelievable happened. Something that felt like fate reaching out and grabbing me by the shoulders.
It all began with a single phone call. A call that led me straight back into a life I swore I’d left behind five years ago. It didn’t start pretty—actually, it felt like a punch straight to the chest. But somehow, it ended with me feeling something I never expected to feel again:
Hope.
Let me tell you everything. You decide if it was destiny or just madness.
The late afternoon sun slipped through my blinds in long golden stripes, painting my apartment with soft light. I sat at my desk, staring blankly at my laptop screen. The cursor blinked at me like it was mocking my thoughts. I wasn’t even pretending to work anymore.
I was too lost inside my memories.
Five years. Five whole years since everything fell apart and shattered me into pieces I’ve been slowly trying to glue back together. Five years since the day I found out David—my then-boyfriend, my first love, my imagined forever—was supposedly cheating on me.
Back then I was a different girl. Bright, hopeful, in love down to my bones, imagining rings and shared apartments and a lifetime together. And then crack—everything split open in one brutal moment.
I left him. I had to. But it felt like someone ripped my heart straight out of my chest.
I rebuilt my life. I finished college, got a steady job, made new friends, crafted a version of myself that looked okay from the outside. Most days, I even believed I was okay.
But every now and then, the pain resurfaced out of nowhere—like today. A ghost of the future I almost had. I sighed and rubbed my temples…
And then my phone rang.
I jumped. My heart slammed against my ribs.
I looked at the screen—and froze.
David.
For a moment, everything inside me went silent. Then my heart began pounding so loudly I could hear it in my ears. Why was he calling me now? After FIVE YEARS?
Against my better judgment, I answered.
“Hello?” My voice was barely a whisper.
“Hi, Emma,” he said.
The sound of his voice… it was familiar yet distant, like a song I used to love but haven’t heard in ages. But something was off. There was a tremor in his voice.
He was crying.
“It’s David. I… I need to talk to you.”
I straightened in my chair, every nerve in my body on edge. “David? What’s going on?”
There was a pause—a long, heavy pause—and then he dropped a bomb so powerful it almost knocked the breath out of me.
“I’m getting married today.”
It felt like the world tilted sideways. My stomach dropped straight to the floor.
“And I only have a few minutes before the ceremony starts,” he rushed on. “Please don’t hang up. I need to tell you the truth. A truth I should’ve told you five years ago.”
The truth? About what?
“What truth?” I asked, my voice shaking.
“Emma,” he said, breathless and desperate, “I never cheated on you. It was all a lie.”
I felt the blood drain from my face.
“What do you mean it was a lie?!” I snapped.
“Your parents,” he said quietly. “They told me to tell you I cheated. They wanted me out of your life.”
I stood up so fast my chair scraped the floor.
“My parents did WHAT?”
“They said I was distracting you,” he went on, voice cracking. “They thought you’d ruin your future if you stayed with me. They threatened to cut ties with you if I didn’t end things. And I knew how much you loved them, Emma. I didn’t want to take your family from you.”
Every word felt like a hammer blow. Everything I believed. Every memory. Every tear. A lie. A manipulation.
My parents—the people I trusted more than anyone—destroyed our relationship.
“Why didn’t you tell me?!” I cried, tears spilling over.
“I thought I was helping you,” he whispered. “But I’ve regretted it every single day. I never stopped loving you.”
I couldn’t breathe. And then he said the words that shattered everything all over again:
“I can’t marry her, Emma. Not when I still love you. Not when I wish it was you standing next to me today.”
Hope, anger, heartbreak—all of it spun in my chest like a tornado.
“Where are you?” I asked fiercely.
He gave me the address of the church.
I grabbed my keys and ran.
I pulled up to the church like my car was running on adrenaline instead of gas. David stood outside the old stone building, pacing. When he saw me, his face crumpled with relief and pain.
“Emma…” he breathed.
We met halfway. He pulled me into his arms, and suddenly five years of hurt, longing, and buried love crashed between us.
“David,” I whispered, “I can’t believe they did that to us.”
“I’m so sorry,” he cried. “I should’ve fought for us. I should’ve told you the truth. I was scared. But I’m here now. I’m choosing you.”
I swallowed hard. “What about her? The woman you’re supposed to marry?”
He ran a hand through his hair, defeated.
“She’s a good person. But I’m lying to myself if I marry her. My heart isn’t hers. It’s yours.”
Just then, the church doors swung open.
Jessica—the bride—stepped out.
Her eyes scanned the scene. Confusion. Hurt. Betrayal. “David… what is happening?”
He turned to her, voice trembling. “Jessica, I’m sorry. I can’t marry you. My heart belongs to someone else.”
Her face broke. “Are you serious?” she gasped.
David reached for her hand, but she jerked away. She whispered something I couldn’t hear, then turned and fled back inside the church, sobbing.
Guilt stabbed me. I whispered a quick prayer for her—for healing, for strength—because I knew exactly how she felt.
But then David turned back to me.
“Emma,” he said softly, “will you give us another chance?”
I looked at him. Really looked.
The boy I loved was gone—but the man standing in front of me? He was ready to fight this time.
“Yes,” I said, my voice steady. “Let’s try.”
His face lit up, bright and relieved. “Thank you. I won’t let you down again.”
“We have each other now,” he murmured, pulling me close. “That’s what matters.”
We left the church behind us—its bells silent, its doors closed to the life he almost stepped into.
He got into my car, and we drove with no destination in mind. The sun set behind us, painting the sky in orange and pink, like the world itself was giving us a fresh start.
We didn’t know what the future held. We didn’t know how hard things might get. We didn’t know how much healing we’d need.
But for the first time in years… I felt FREE.
As the highway stretched out ahead, the wind rushing through the open windows, David reached over and took my hand.
“Whatever comes next,” he said, “we’ll face it together.”
And just like that, mile after mile, hope bloomed again—soft, warm, unstoppable.
We were finally ready to rebuild the love stolen from us.
Together.