The café was still, the once-familiar hum of conversation replaced by the eerie silence that followed Mia's abrupt exit. Sophie stood frozen in place, her gaze fixed on the door, still feeling the remnants of Mia's presence like a shadow hanging in the air. Every inch of her body felt on edge, a tingling sensation running through her veins, as though she were standing on the precipice of something monumental.
The warmth of the café, with its rustic wooden tables and the soft glow of vintage lights, felt suddenly suffocating. The cozy atmosphere that once invited comfort now seemed distant, replaced by the raw energy of an encounter that had shaken her to the core.
---
Jackim was the first to break the silence. He didn't look at Sophie immediately. Instead, he ran his fingers through his hair, a habit when he was trying to process something too complicated to explain. His eyes were unfocused, staring out the window as if searching for answers in the distant city lights. His usually calm and composed demeanor was now broken, leaving behind a man wrestling with something deep and personal.
Sophie took a step toward him, her heart pounding. "Jackim..." Her voice was soft, filled with a mix of confusion and concern. "What's going on? Who was she? And why did she say those things?"
---
Jackim turned toward her slowly, his face etched with an unfamiliar heaviness. The distance between them felt like a chasm, one that he had unwittingly built over the years, brick by brick. But now, with Mia's cryptic words lingering in the air, the walls that Jackim had carefully constructed began to crumble.
"Her name is Mia," he began, his voice low, almost pained. "And she's someone from my past. Someone I thought I had left behind a long time ago."
Sophie raised an eyebrow, unsure if she was hearing him correctly. "A past? What kind of past are we talking about here, Jackim?"
---
Before he could answer, Fred cleared his throat, his sharp eyes darting between the two of them. He had been unusually quiet, but now, his protective instincts kicked in. He didn't trust Mia or the tension that had followed her arrival.
"Listen, we need answers," Fred said, his tone unwavering. "But let's not do this here. Not in public. It's not safe."
Jackim's eyes flicked toward Fred, and for a brief moment, Sophie saw a glimmer of understanding pass between them. Whatever this was, it was bigger than they had let on. Mia had opened a door to something that Jackim wasn't ready to confront in front of others.
---
Sophie's heart raced. She wanted to scream. She wanted answers. But something told her that pushing Jackim too hard right now would only cause him to retreat further into himself. She had to be patient. But patience was something Sophie was quickly running out of.
"Alright," Sophie said, her voice steady despite the turmoil inside her. "But this isn't over, Jackim. I need to know. I deserve to know."
He nodded, his expression softening slightly, though his eyes still held the weight of unspoken secrets. "I know. And you will. But not yet."
---
---
Later that night...
The night was quiet, save for the occasional rustle of leaves in the wind and the distant hum of the city. Sophie sat on the couch, her legs curled beneath her, her mind racing as she stared at the flickering shadows on the wall. Her phone lay next to her, but she hadn't touched it for hours. She was waiting for Jackim to come home. But deep down, she knew he wasn't going to return tonight.
---
She stood up and moved toward the window, her eyes tracing the streetlights in the distance. The city seemed so alive, so full of possibilities, yet Sophie felt completely out of place. It wasn't the city that felt foreign; it was the man she had let into her life.
She had always known Jackim wasn't entirely open with her. But tonight, the facade had crumbled, revealing a man hiding in the shadows, a man with a past that was far from ordinary. And Mia? She was the key to that past. Sophie felt it in her gut. There was something more to this than just old relationships or unfinished business.
---
The sound of the door creaking open interrupted her thoughts, and Sophie's heart skipped. She turned around to see Jackim standing in the doorway, his figure dark against the dim light from the hallway. He looked worn, his posture slumped, as if the weight of the day had taken its toll.
---
"Jackim," Sophie said softly, her voice carrying the exhaustion she had been holding back. "Are you okay?"
For a moment, he said nothing, simply looking at her as though he were trying to decide how much of the truth he could bear to share. His hand rested on the doorframe, his gaze locked with hers.
"I should've told you earlier," Jackim said, his voice thick with regret. "About Mia, about everything. But I didn't. I thought... I thought I could protect you from it."
---
Sophie stepped closer, her heart pounding in her chest. "Jackim, I'm not a child. I can handle the truth. But I can't handle you keeping secrets from me, especially ones that involve people like Mia."
Jackim's expression faltered, and for the first time, Sophie saw the vulnerability beneath the layers he had so carefully built. "Mia is... was a part of my life I never wanted to revisit. She's a reminder of everything I thought I had left behind—everything I thought I had escaped."
---
Sophie's mind raced, piecing together the fragmented pieces of Jackim's past that he had never shared. It was clear that Mia was more than just a ghost from his past; she was something that could destroy everything Jackim had worked so hard to build.
"She has power over you," Sophie said, the realization dawning on her. "Doesn't she?"
Jackim hesitated, his eyes darkening as he nodded slowly. "Yes. She does. And she's here to make sure I pay for what happened all those years ago."
---
The weight of his words hung in the air like a thunderstorm waiting to break. Sophie felt her heart tighten. She had known that Jackim's past was complex, but this... this was something different. It wasn't just old scars or broken relationships. It was a past that threatened to consume him—and by extension, her as well.
"What did you do, Jackim?" Sophie whispered, her voice barely audible.
Jackim's eyes flickered, and for a brief moment, Sophie thought she saw guilt flash across his face. But it was gone as quickly as it came. "I made mistakes," he admitted quietly. "Mistakes that still haunt me. And Mia... she's come to collect."
---
Sophie felt a lump form in her throat, her mind reeling with everything Jackim had just confessed. She wanted to reach out to him, to tell him everything would be okay, but the truth was, she didn't know if it would be.
Mia wasn't just a woman from his past. She was a storm, and Jackim was the eye of it. And now, Sophie was standing right in the middle of the storm, not knowing if she would get swept away or if she would find a way to survive.
---