Chapter 118: The Past She Never Told Him

Chapter 118: Chapter 118: The Past She Never Told Him

Alexander woke up long before the sun actually rose.

He lay in bed, staring at the dark ceiling. He had barely slept a single hour. Every time he closed his eyes, the bright screen of his laptop flashed in his mind. The old, archived photograph. The way Audrey was smiling.

He didn’t wake her. He quietly slipped out of bed and walked into the kitchen.

He didn’t want to yell. He didn’t want to storm into the bedroom and demand, "Who is Mason Calloway?"

That wasn’t who Alexander was. He needed to approach this carefully.

He started making breakfast. He cracked eggs into a pan, started the coffee maker, and went through their normal morning routine.

A little while later, Audrey walked into the kitchen. She looked completely exhausted. The heavy weight of the past few days was still dragging her down. She wrapped her robe tighter around her shoulders and sat at the kitchen island.

Alexander watched her for a moment. He set a warm mug of coffee in front of her.

"Audrey, can I ask you something?" Alexander asked casually.

Audrey looked up, blowing softly on her coffee. "Sure."

Alexander leaned against the counter. He didn’t mention Europe. He didn’t mention Mason yet.

"Before we met..." Alexander started smoothly, "what was your life like?"

Audrey looked slightly confused. Her brow furrowed. "My life?"

"Yeah," Alexander nodded. "College. Friends. Relationships. All of it."

Audrey took a slow sip of her coffee. It was a broad question, giving her plenty of room to answer naturally.

"It was pretty normal," Audrey said with a faint shrug. "I studied a lot. I spent most of my time in the newsroom with Ben and Daisy. We lived in a tiny, crowded apartment."

Alexander smiled softly. It was a smooth, patient smile.

"Was there anyone serious before me?" he asked.

Audrey hesitated. Her fingers tightened slightly around the ceramic mug. "A few dates."

Alexander let out a quiet, knowing chuckle. "That wasn’t my question."

Audrey laughed faintly, but it sounded a little nervous. "Why are you suddenly asking?"

Alexander shrugged. He crossed his arms loosely over his chest.

"Because I realized I know almost everything about the woman you became," Alexander said. "I don’t know much about the girl you were."

He wasn’t accusing her. He wasn’t jealous. He was asking because he genuinely wanted to know the woman he loved.

Then, his voice dropped just a fraction.

"Was there someone you loved?"

Audrey went completely quiet.

This was the first real crack. She didn’t say Mason’s name immediately. She didn’t try to brush the question off with a joke. She just looked down at her dark coffee.

"Yes," Audrey whispered.

Alexander’s expression changed slightly. A tiny, painful flinch pulled at his eyes, but his voice remained entirely calm.

"How serious?" he asked.

"Very," Audrey answered.

"Did you think you’d marry him?"

A long, suffocating silence filled the kitchen. Audrey stared at the counter.

"Once," she said.

That one single word completely devastated him. It hurt Alexander much more than an entire screaming argument ever could.

---

Alexander took a slow breath. He didn’t ask if it was the billionaire she was currently interviewing. Not yet.

Instead, he asked, "What happened?"

Audrey kept her eyes glued to her mug. She told him the broad truth, piece by piece.

"I loved him deeply," Audrey explained, her voice shaking slightly. "But he was leaving for Europe. His career was becoming enormous. My world was small, and his was expanding. I believed our lives were moving in completely different directions."

She swallowed hard. "So, I let him go."

Alexander listened carefully. He absorbed every word.

"Did he leave you?" Alexander asked.

Audrey thought about the rainy airport. She thought about the metal trailer yesterday.

"No," Audrey said.

That answer genuinely surprised him.

"Then why did you let him go?" Alexander asked.

Audrey struggled to find the words. Her chest felt incredibly tight.

"Because I thought loving someone meant knowing when to let them go," Audrey finally answered.

Alexander stood completely still. He realized right then that this wasn’t just some casual college romance. This wasn’t a bad breakup. This was the relationship that had entirely shaped the woman sitting in front of him.

He didn’t show her the photograph. He didn’t tell her he had searched Mason’s name online.

Instead, Alexander asked one final, quiet question.

"Did you ever stop loving him?"

Audrey froze.

This was the hardest question of all. She desperately wanted to look up and say yes. She wanted to tell him that Alexander was the only man she loved now.

But she couldn’t lie. Not to him.

"I thought I did," Audrey whispered.

She didn’t say Yes.

That answer was completely devastating, because Alexander understood exactly what she meant.

He didn’t argue. He didn’t yell. He didn’t throw his coffee mug against the wall.

Alexander simply nodded.

"I see," he said quietly.

He turned around and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Audrey entirely alone with her cold coffee.

He wasn’t competing with a ghost anymore. He was realizing that the ghost was still very much alive.

---

Across the city, the morning sun was shining brightly over the massive Calloway estate.

Mason sat at the formal dining table, drinking a cup of black coffee. His father, Richard, was reading a financial paper at the head of the table. His mother, Victoria, was sitting across from him.

"Mother, I told you," Mason said firmly, setting his cup down. "I am not interested in getting married right now."

Victoria sighed heavily. She folded her napkin and placed it on the table. She completely shifted her tactics.

"Fine," Victoria said smoothly. "Don’t marry anyone."

Mason looked at her suspiciously. His dark eyes narrowed. "Then what?"

Victoria offered a sweet, entirely calculated smile. "Go on one date."

Mason stared at her blankly. "No."

"One," Victoria pressed.

"No."

"Two hours," Victoria countered.

"Mother."

Richard quietly took a sip of his coffee, watching his wife completely corner their stubborn son. He didn’t say a word.

"You don’t have to like her," Victoria continued calmly. "You don’t have to marry her. You don’t even have to see her again after dessert."

Mason remained completely unmoved. His face was an icy mask.

Then, Victoria looked at him with genuine concern.

"Just prove to me that you are capable of having a life outside this company," Victoria said softly.

That hit differently.

Because Mason truly didn’t have one. His entire life had become football, the devastating knee injury, the corporate ownership, the endless business meetings, and the woman he had never been able to forget.

Mason closed his eyes. He let out a long, exhausted sigh.

"Fine," Mason said.

Victoria almost looked shocked that it actually worked. "Really?"

"One dinner," Mason warned strictly.

Victoria smiled triumphantly. "Saturday."

Mason immediately regretted agreeing to it. He looked at his mother’s perfectly confident face.

"You already chose someone?" Mason asked dryly.

Victoria calmly lifted her coffee cup. "Of course."

Richard actually smiled from behind his newspaper.

Mason looked back and forth between his parents. "You planned this before asking me."

"Obviously," Victoria replied without an ounce of shame.

---

Two hours later, Mason was back in his temporary office overlooking the construction site.

His young assistant walked in and handed him a printed schedule.

Mason looked down at the paper. His eyes immediately locked onto the list of upcoming interviews for the investigative project. Audrey’s name was printed right at the top.

He paused.

He clearly remembered the panic in her eyes yesterday. He remembered her backing away until she hit the door.

I have a boyfriend.

Then, he remembered the way she kissed him back.

Mason closed the heavy schedule and handed it back to his assistant.

"Keep everything professional," Mason instructed coldly.

"Understood, sir," the assistant nodded, taking the file and stepping out of the room.

Mason didn’t tell his assistant about the blind date on Saturday. He didn’t tell his parents about Audrey.

But internally, as he looked out the window at the steel beams, he knew the absolute truth. Going on a dinner date with a wealthy stranger was not going to erase Audrey.

---

The city fell dark.

Alexander was sitting completely alone in the dim living room of his apartment. Audrey was already asleep in the bedroom upstairs.

He opened his laptop. The bright screen illuminated his tired face.

He looked at the old, archived college photograph again. He stared at the young, happy version of Audrey. He stared at the arrogant, talented football captain standing beside her.

"Who were you to her?" Alexander whispered into the quiet room.

Meanwhile, across the city, Mason was still sitting in his quiet office.

His phone buzzed. It was a message from his assistant.

Your mother confirmed the dinner for Saturday at eight.

Mason read the text. He looked out the window at the city lights.

"Right," Mason murmured to himself.

He paused, resting his chin on his hand.

"One dinner," he said quietly.

But his mind wasn’t on the woman he was supposed to meet this weekend. It was completely on Audrey.

For seven years, Mason had been the man Audrey tried to forget. Now Alexander was finally beginning to understand just how impossible that had been.