Rekindling The Past

Chapter Three: Rekindling the Past

Morning is here, with the first rays streaming through the curtains and casting a soft golden glow on the room. I flicker my eyes open, and don't feel as rested as I actually should. My body feels heavy, like the weight of yesterday is weighing me down. I roll over; the bed is colder and emptier than it should be.

Noah's side of the bed was already empty, sheets perfectly neat-looking as though they hadn't been touched at all. Of course, he was up before me-probably long gone without a word, just like always. No kiss goodbye, no note. Just silence.

I lie, staring at the ceiling for some time while trying to shake away all those memories playing in my mind. Elvis. Well, yesterday was just a gut punch-upsharp, unpredictable, and just so painful. I had not thought of him in many years. Not that I forgot him, but because I forced myself not to think about him. His face, his voice, the moments we shared …I thought all was behind me.

I force myself out of bed and head to the bathroom; my feet drag across the cold floor. The mirror shows a reflection of me that is very distant, unfamiliar to me-eyes dull from lack of sleep, skin pale with stress. Who am I? I can hardly recognize the person staring back at me. Is this the life I chose? Or was it chosen for me?

I splash water on my face and hope the cold shock will chase away thoughts clinging to me like shadows. But they don't leave.

Elvis.

His face, those eyes with the surprise in them from seeing me standing there yesterday, plays over and over in my head. There was recognition, yes, but something more-yes, something deeper, something I wasn't prepared to face. Regret, maybe? Pain? Or was it just my own reflection mirrored in him?

I press my palms against the sink, leaning forward, as if to steady my breathing. Why now? Why does he have to come back into my life at this point, when it's all so complicated? I have convinced myself for years that marrying Noah is what I wanted, that it was the right choice despite this deep knowing in a far-off place that it wasn't. It was never about love; it was about survival.

My family.

Noah saved us when the debt was well over our heads, when Father was about to lose everything. He had promised to take care of it, to sort out the bills, to save us from ruin. All he wanted in return was me. And I said yes. I told myself it was the only way. And now… now I pay for it every single day.

The vibration of my phone on the nightstand against my face pulls me out of my thoughts. I towel my face dry and walk back into the bedroom, picking up the phone with a trembling hand to see whose name lights up across the screen.

Elvis.

For one second, I freeze. My thumb just hovers above the screen, debating whether to answer or not. Do I really want to open that door again?

But before I can really overthink it, I swipe to answer and bring the phone to my ear.

"Hello?"

There's a moment of silence on his end, “Rachel” he says softly, “I didn't know you are going to pick up*

.

I sink down onto the edge of the bed, my heart pounding so loudly I'm sure he can hear it through the phone. "I didn't know you are going to call either, I wasn't sure about it”

"I couldn't stop thinking about you," he admits, his voice laced with honesty enough to send a shiver down my back. "Yesterday… seeing you again after all these years. It caught me by surprise."

I close my eyes and let his words wash over me. "Me too," I whisper.

There is such a pause. Neither of us knows how to bridge this chasm between what we used to be and what we have become. We've changed, both of us. Yet here the connection is, flickering beneath the surface like some dying flame desperate to be fanned into life.

“But why did you leave? Why did you cut off all means of communication all of a sudden?” He says, “I did everything I could do to reach you, your family said they couldn't reach you. You just disappear without a word”

The words hang in the air heavy and sharp, and I feel the guilt clawing at my chest. How do I explain? How do I make him understand the impossible choice I had to make? I swallow hard, my throat tight.

“Elvisi…” I begin, “My family were in debt, and the only way we could pay off was me marrying Nolan. He also promised to sort out bills out every month. All he asked for in return was for me to marry him”

I hear Elvis sharply inhale on the other end. "Rachel," he breathes, his voice full of incredulity. "You married him because your family owed him money?"

I nod, even though he can't see me. "Yes. I didn't have a choice, Elvis. I couldn't let my father lose everything. I thought… I thought I was doing the right thing.

There's a silence on the other end, and I can feel in that the weight of his disappointment, his confusion. Yet what was I to have done? I did not want to marry Noah. I did not love him. I never have. But I did not know how to say no. Not when my family's future was at stake.

"I had no idea," Elvis says finally, his voice strain. "I thought you just moved on, found someone else… I didn't know."

Tears begin to fall from my eyes, but I wipe them away. “I am sorry, Elvis. I'll really sorry” I say, my voice breaking, “I really do not want to leave you then, but there was nothing I could do”

“It's fine. I understand” he says softly, “I just wish you would have told me, I would have helped in one way or the other. I don't like what happened yesterday, I am not fine with what I saw”

I know the way Noah commands, the way he talks harshly. Elvis never treated me that way. “I understand. it's just that there's nothing I can do”

There is silence between us now, thick and suffocating. I feel the weight of the past pulling at me, everything I lost, everything I sacrificed. Then Elvis speaks again, and his words dance across my skin like a cold wind.

“Let's meet, what do you think?” He ask, not waiting for my reply before he continues, “I think we should meet. We need to talk”

My heart quickens. I shouldn't. I really know I shouldn't. But the temptation is too great, what could have been too tempting to resist. I pause, nibbling on my bottom lip.

"Elvis…" I start to say, but he stops me.

"Please, Rachel," he begs, desperation in his voice. "I just want to talk. Just the two of us. Somewhere private.

I close my eyes and my head goes in circles. I know this is not safe. I know it's bound to make things worse. But I won't be able to resist him. To be able to see him again, talk to him, share my pain with someone who genuinely cares-the temptation is impossible to resist.

"Okay," I whisper; my voice hardly reaching audibility.

"Where?”

There's a pause on the other end, and I can almost hear the relief in his breath. “Do you remember the cafe we used to go to, I think that's the best place to meet now”

I nod, even though he can't see me. "I think that's better, you know Elvis is a popular person so we can't just meet in a popular place”

We hang up, and I sit on the edge of the bed, my heart racing, my mind spiraling out of control. What am I doing?

I know this is wrong. I know I shouldn't be meeting him. But for the first time in years, I feel alive. I feel like there's a part of me that I've lost—a part of me that I can only find with Elvis.

I just sat there, staring at the phone in my hand, and realized for a moment I had been living in a prison of my own making. Noah didn't care for me. He never had. To him, I was just one more brick in his empire, another thing he owned. But with Elvis. maybe there's a chance for something more. Something real.

The thought terrifies me, but it excites me. Tomorrow, everything could change. And for the first time in a long time, I feel like I'm ready for it.