𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧, 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐭

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐗𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

Monday came faster than I expected, but there was no escaping it now. Tonight, I had dinner with Daniel, and I honestly had no idea what he was going to say. I didn't want to talk about everything that went wrong on Thanksgiving. That chapter was closed—Christmas season was here now, and I wanted to focus on the present.

I glanced at myself in the mirror, giving my outfit a final check. My black dress fit perfectly, and the shimmer of my perfume hung lightly in the air as I sprayed it on my wrists. I slipped on my heels, grabbed my coat, and reached for my purse. Nathaniel had the boys for the night, so I didn't have to worry about them, at least for now. The sound of the doorbell rang through the apartment just as I zipped up my bag.

I walked over to the door and opened it. There stood Daniel, looking impossibly sharp in an all-black suit. His blue eyes gleamed under the dim porch light, and his hair was perfectly in place. He looked good—there was no denying that. A slight smile tugged at my lips.

"You ready?" he asked, his voice soft but steady.

"Almost. Come in," I stepped aside, letting him into the hallway. After a quick glance in the hallway mirror to run a brush through my hair one last time, I turned back to him. "Okay, let's go."

The drive to the restaurant felt longer than usual, the city lights flashing by as we engaged in small talk—nothing serious, just catching up on little things. I appreciated that. He didn't bring up Thanksgiving, and I didn't either. It was like an unspoken agreement that tonight wasn't the time for rehashing old wounds.

When we reached the restaurant, Daniel kept me close by his side, his hand resting lightly on the small of my back as we were led to our table. The ambiance was warm, candlelight flickering on each table, soft murmurs of conversation filling the air. Once we sat down, Daniel's eyes lingered on me, and I could feel his gaze before I even looked up.

"You look beautiful tonight, Maluena," he said softly, his smile warm.

"Thank you," I returned the smile, my heart skipping a beat as I glanced over his suit. "You clean up nicely yourself, Daniel."

He chuckled, but there was something deeper in his eyes, something that made me pause. The waiter arrived shortly after and took our orders, allowing the moment to pass. As we waited for the food, Daniel leaned back, his demeanor more relaxed, more comfortable.

"I've been thinking a lot about the past lately," he began, swirling the water in his glass. "Our childhood, how we used to run around the neighborhood like we didn't have a care in the world."

I smiled, leaning forward. "Yeah, we did get into a lot of trouble back then, didn't we?"

"We did," he agreed, chuckling at the memory. "But it wasn't just the trouble I've been thinking about. It's you. You've always been... I don't know, special. I always thought you were beautiful, even when we were kids. I just never had the guts to tell you back then."

His words caught me off guard, and I blinked, unsure how to respond at first. "Daniel..."

"I should've told you how I felt a long time ago," he continued, his voice quiet but sincere. "But I was young, stupid. I ran from my feelings, from you, and I've regretted it ever since. I'm sorry, my love. I hope it's not too late."

I shook my head gently, touched by his honesty. "It's not too late, Daniel. We've both been through a lot, but we're here now, aren't we?"

He smiled, and for a moment, everything felt light—like the weight of the past had been lifted, if only for a little while. The waiter brought our food, and the conversation drifted into other topics, mostly reminiscing about the old days. Daniel's laughter was contagious, and I found myself laughing too, the tension I hadn't realized I was carrying slowly melting away.