"Echoes of Unseen Fate"

Chapter 15

Amaya POV

The weekend had passed, and it had already been three days since I last saw him—three days since Alex had come to my supposed rescue. That night, when Amelia returned from work, I shared everything that had happened. She was furious, cursing him in a hundred different ways and even joking about wanting to commit murder.

I had a strong feeling she wasn't joking, but I decided to pretend she was. After all, with her job description, she was supposed to be doing the exact opposite of plotting a murder—more like saving lives, not ending them.

No matter how hard I tried to push thoughts of him out of my mind, I couldn't. I spent years trying to move on, burying the painful memories, and just when I finally succeeded—finally started focusing on myself—he reappears. And with that, all the progress I made crumbled, like none of it ever mattered.

I sighed, sinking deeper into the chair, feeling the weight of it all. Him. The memories came flooding back, sharp and vivid. It had been years since I thought of him—since I tried to bury the past and convince myself that I'd moved on. But now, no matter how hard I tried, the thoughts kept resurfacing.

I was pulled from my thoughts by a knock on the door of my office. Letting out a sigh, I called, "Come in." Bridget entered, holding a stack of folders in one hand and a takeout bag in the other.

"Hope I'm not interrupting," Bridget said with a smile as she stepped up to my desk.

"Not at all. What's up?" I replied, returning her smile.

Bridget placed the takeout bag on my desk and handed over the folders. "These are the files you need to review and finalize for the Thatcher project," she said, her tone professional but light. "Oh, and this," she gestured to the takeout bag, "was sent over by Alexander Thatcher himself."

I raised an eyebrow, taken aback as a wave of guilt crept in. Ever since Saturday, I'd been avoiding him out of sheer embarrassment, even though he hadn't done anything wrong. Even Aaron had tried to reach out. "He sent food?"

Bridget chuckled. "Yep. He personally texted me, asking if you'd eaten. When I told him you hadn't, the next thing I knew, he said he was sending food over and asked if I could hand it to you."

I sighed, glancing at the stack of files. "How much more do we have to finalize?"

"Just these, and then we're ready to move forward," she said, tapping the top folder. "It's all coming together."

"Good." I leaned back in my chair, my thoughts briefly shifting to Alexander.

"Oh, and Bridget, I'll finalize these, but can you call Aaron? The two of you should schedule a meeting so we can go over the full plan with both our team and Alexander's. Once that's done, we can move forward."

Bridget nodded, already pulling out her phone. "Got it. I'll call him right away and find a time that works for everyone."

I turned my attention back to the folders, flipping through the documents that outlined the details of the project.

Bridget stood up, ready to make her calls. "I'll handle it. Just focus on finalizing the details here. We'll get through this."

I nodded as she dialed Aaron's number. As Bridget put the phone to her ear, I heard Aaron's voice on the other end say, "Bridget, if I had a dollar for every time I thought about you, I'd be richer then I already am."

I laughed at his line while Bridget rolled her eyes and said, "Shut it, Aaron. We're working here!" Her playful annoyance only made me chuckle more as I watched her try to maintain a professional demeanor amidst his teasing.