The evening air carried a crisp breeze as the city lights blinked to life one by one. Outside Lysandra's apartment, a sleek black car pulled up quietly. Elias stepped out, adjusting the cuffs of his deep charcoal suit, his tie matching the subtle burgundy in the evening sky.
He raised a hand to knock—when the door opened on its own.
Lysandra stood there in her midnight blue gown, soft waves of hair cascading over one shoulder, a gentle shimmer dusting her skin like stardust. The fabric hugged her curves with effortless grace, her neckline glimmering with a delicate silver pendant. For a moment, Elias could not find his words.
His breath caught.
She looked ethereal.
> "Lysandra…" he managed after a pause. "You look…"
She tilted her head with a soft smile.
> "Beautiful?" she teased gently, trying to ease the sudden tension in the air.
Elias chuckled under his breath, still visibly stunned.
> "More than beautiful. You look… radiant."
Lysandra blushed faintly and looked down for a heartbeat before her eyes met his again.
> "You don't look so bad yourself. Very handsome in your suit, Elias."
> "It's the tie," he said, smiling as he offered his arm.
She looped her hand around it.
> "No. It's you."
---
The ride to the venue was quiet but comfortable, the silence filled with soft glances and the occasional smile. Elias glanced at her once more as they neared the event hall.
> "Are you nervous?"
Lysandra shrugged.
> "A little. But you're here. That makes it easier."
He smiled, heart tugging in his chest.
> "You'll be fine. Just be you. They'll love you."
---
Inside, the hall glowed with warm lights and gentle music. The guests were dressed to impress, and the room hummed with chatter and laughter. As Elias walked Lysandra through the crowd, a few heads turned. She noticed it.
> "They're staring," she whispered.
> "Of course they are," Elias replied, leaning slightly closer. "You look like a dream."
Before she could respond, a woman came running toward them—tall, graceful, and full of life.
> "Elias!" she squealed and pulled him into a hug. "You made it!"
Elias laughed.
> "Of course I did. This is your night."
Then he turned to Lysandra.
> "Lysandra, meet my sister, Madeline. The bride-to-be."
Madeline turned to Lysandra with bright eyes and a welcoming smile.
> "So you're the famous best friend! Elias never shuts up about you."
Lysandra blushed again but extended her hand.
> "It's lovely to meet you. Congratulations."
Madeline took her hand but pulled her into a hug instead.
> "You're gorgeous! I love your dress!"
From across the room, a few relatives watched with curiosity, some whispering, others simply intrigued by the woman who walked in with Elias.
A sudden, radiant aura fluttered into the room—familiar, delicate, unforgettable.
His gaze snapped across the crowd.
And then—he saw her.
She entered on Elias's arm, her laughter like music, her beauty effortlessly luminous in her midnight gown. Her long lashes framed eyes that glowed with gentle confidence. Lysandra.
His heart clenched like a fist.
> Impossible…
The air left his lungs.
She was smiling.
Smiling. With someone else.
A low, invisible growl simmered inside him as his eyes darkened—not out of hatred, but from the thousand shards of grief and betrayal he thought he had buried. Seeing her laugh, unaware of his presence, felt like being stabbed in the same place he died years ago.
His hands curled into fists at his sides.
> How can she look so at peace… after everything? After what she did?
His bride-to-be Madeline, Elias sister spoke to him but he didn't respond. All he could see was her—the girl who had given him life again, and taken it in the same breath.
And she hadn't changed at all. Or maybe… she had.
She was stronger.
She moved through the crowd like she belonged among them. Her cheeks flushed from laughter, her eyes softer now—but also colder when not lit by joy.
> She moved on...
> She forgot me.
Caveen's throat tightened.
He took a step back, trying to tame the chaos surging inside him—but it was too late.
She sensed him.
Across the room, Lysandra's body froze for a moment. Her hand lightly gripped her champagne glass. Her head turned. Their eyes met.
Her smile vanished.
The room fell silent around them though music still played.
In that long, charged moment—it was as if no time had passed.
And yet, everything had changed.
She looked at him not as a lover.
Not as the man she once sacrificed everything for.
But as a ghost.
Caveen's fiancée followed his gaze, noticing Lysandra Elias bestfriend. Her brows furrowed, then she whispered something to him, but he didn't answer.
His entire being was locked onto Lysandra.
The woman who traded their child for his life.
The woman he could never truly forget.
She turned away first.
And it broke him all over again.