'Til I Found You (COMPLETED)

2

~ Two Years Later ~

Time passes at a brisk pace, and life finally runs smoothly for her. Lea teaches in a small private school where her past is a secret buried deep beneath professional layers. To her, teaching isn't just a childhood dream—it’s a reclamation. It’s the future her parents once envisioned for her, even if life took a brutal detour.

If only she could claw back what she lost—her dignity, her innocence—but she knows that’s impossible. She has become the woman her parents never expected her to be. Sometimes she assumes they would detest her now, wherever they are. The young girl full of affection, who believed in fairytales, is long gone—buried in the same wreckage as her parents.

Truth be told, the woman in the mirror is a stranger. She is someone forged by cruel circumstances, a survivor who toughed out every battle thrown her way. Nobody stayed to help her, and she has taught herself to accept that fact wholeheartedly. It has been a lonely, agonizing process, but she has rebuilt her life from the shattered fragments of her past.

"One vodka," she orders.

After a long day of paperwork and back-to-back exams, she deserves to unwind. The waiter slides her glass across the bar. This is a common hangout for her colleagues, but tonight she flies solo, watching partygoers drift in and out while she enjoys her solitude. By the time she finishes her last shot, she’s a bit tipsy.

She walks out to the parking lot. A black car clicks as it unlocks, but just as she reaches for it, a man pulls the door open.

"Excuse me? That’s my car," she blurts out, her head spinning like a faulty tap.

"Miss, it’s mine. You’re mistaken," he explains calmly, but Lea is too intoxicated to listen.

"It’s mine. Don’t bug me. I’ve had a long day." She stumbles forward, her feet tangling, but he is quick enough to catch her.

"You’re drunk," he says.

"I’m. Not," she insists, her voice halting. His forehead creases as he tries to decipher her slurred speech. Suddenly, her stomach turns. She retches, throwing up squarely on his shirt.

The man loses his cool. "What the—!"

He pulls away to look at the damage, but in a split second, she loses consciousness and falls back into his arms.

"Miss! Miss! Sh-t." He carries her to the car and rummages through her things for an ID, but finds nothing. Her unfamiliar school uniform offers no clues. With a growl of frustration, he puts the car in gear and drives.

---

Sunlight peeks through the window. Lea stretches, her eyes droopy and heavy. Another busy day is kicking off—finals are approaching—and she blinks, trying to recall her to-do list. Then, her eyes land on an unfamiliar ceiling. She scans the black-and-white walls and the expensive paintings hanging against them. A sophisticated home fragrance fills the air.

This isn't my house.

Memories of the previous night flash back: a man, tall and masculine, arguing over a car. Just then, a notification pings on her phone—a message from the auto shop informing her that her car has been repaired and is ready for pickup.