He knew with Kevin Lane and Isabella's parents keeping a close eye, the smartest thing for Emily Blair was to leave. Still, he couldn't help wanting her to stay.

He tried to get her to stay, but in the end, Emily made her choice. She walked away.

That whole scene left a bad taste in his mouth. It was enough to make him bitter, even a little embarrassed. By the time Emily left that night, whatever little feelings he'd had for her felt completely wiped out.

He told himself it was time to move on. He was with Isabella now, Emily was gone - it just made sense to let it all go. So he threw himself into work, got engaged, married Isabella, and stood by her side as they started a family together.

This was the life he had mapped out for himself. Maybe he owed it to Isabella. Either way, he chose this path willingly.

Maybe this was how the rest of his life would go.

The first couple of years, he barely thought about Emily at all.

But then, as the years went by, it was like a tiny seed with her name on it started to grow in his heart. It would pop up when he least expected it, taking root and growing stronger, until suddenly it felt like the memory of her was everywhere.

The more time passed, the more he found himself thinking about Emily. It got harder and harder to let her go.

He could sense something changing inside him, but he didn't want to admit it.

When she was around, he hadn't felt much of anything. No real attachment, no longing. Then five years after she left, he found himself lost in old memories.

He had to laugh at himself. It was ridiculous.

He tried to brush it off, kept going with his life and work like nothing had changed.

He thought he was hiding it well, but Isabella noticed how distracted he was. She actually thought he was seeing someone else and even had people look into it.

Not just Isabella - even his friends started asking if he had a new woman on the side, teasing him about how spaced out he'd been lately.

That's when it hit him. Emily was starting to mess with his life, even when she wasn't around.

It wasn't just in his head, either. Her name seemed to be everywhere. Emily's company, Vertex International, was growing fast, showing up in the news all the time. He couldn't escape it, no matter how hard he tried.

He tried to push her out of his mind, even stopped following finance news for a while.

Then, a few months ago, he started having these vivid dreams. In every one, Emily was jumping into the sea. He'd wake up in the middle of the night, heart pounding, chest aching, the pain so real it was hard to breathe.

Five years after their breakup, he finally realized he was in trouble.

He had fallen for Emily Blair, and there was no denying it anymore.

Then, out of nowhere, Vertex International came knocking.

They wanted to develop a game based on the Rabbit Gang series, and needed to buy the rights to Black and White Rabbit for their launch. That meant Emily had to reach out to the Lane Group.

It was the first time they'd seen each other in years.

He remembered being struck by how much she had changed. The shy, timid girl from before was gone. Now she was confident, polished, all grown up from years of hard work. When she looked at him, her eyes were clear and calm. There was nothing left of the past in her gaze.

For the first time, his heart skipped a beat. He was the one who wanted to run away now.

On a whim, he asked her to play the piano.

It was just the two of them in the room. He remembered how she'd tied her hair up, the gentle curve of her profile, the elegance of her neck.

As the soft music filled the room, he couldn't help but remember the way she used to look at him.