Chapter 2Time Knows I Loved You, and Always Have

“Hello, you’ve reached the office of the CEO of Astra Group. How may I help you?”

Astra. My middle name. Why would she name her company after me? Could it be… that she still had feelings for me?

“Hello, this is the City Police Department. We need to speak with Ms. Ava regarding a personal matter. Please transfer the call.”

The line clicked and beeped. Ten seconds felt like a decade. When a familiar voice finally came through, my heart leaped into my throat.

“Hello?”

What if she was disgusted to see me? What if she and Ethan were married, with kids? Suddenly, this act of defiance felt like a terrible, terrible mistake.

“Is this Ms. Ava, ma’am? This is the police,” the officer said.

“It is. What can I do for you?”

I dug my nails into my palms, holding my breath, my shoulders slumped as I pretended not to listen, even though every fiber of my being was focused on that phone call.

“Ma’am, I know this is going to sound incredible, but we need you to trust us. We’ve located Mr. Leo, who was reported missing fifteen years ago. He’s here with me now and needs someone to pick him up.”

The silence on the other end was absolute. It stretched on, heavy and deafening, each tick of the clock a hammer blow against my heart. I was about to give up, to tell the officer never mind, when her voice came through, cutting through the silence.

“I’ll be there shortly.”

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding and slumped back into the hard plastic chair. One by one, I watched the other passengers from the train get picked up by their families. Some reunions were tearful explosions of joy, people clinging to each other as if they’d never let go. Others were cold, tense standoffs, filled with resentment and accusations.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one whose reappearance was an inconvenience. Many of our partners had given up, rebuilt their lives, started new families. Our return wasn't a miracle; it was a complication, a burden.

The anxiety coiled in my stomach again. When I saw Ava, what would I say? How would I face her? Would she hate me for disrupting the life she’d built without me?

Fear crept in, a cold shadow that I didn’t notice had turned into dusk outside.

“Hey,” the officer said softly. “It’s getting late. You could… you could come home with me for the night.”

I looked around, dazed. The station was nearly empty. All the other passengers were gone. I was the last one left, unclaimed.

Just then, the sharp click-clack of heels echoed down the hallway. A young, sharply dressed woman hurried toward me, clutching a faded photograph.

“Mr. Leo?” she asked.

I nodded.

“I’m so sorry for the delay, the traffic was a nightmare. Ms. Ava sent me to pick you up. My name is Chelsea.”

A pang of disappointment hit me—Ava hadn’t come herself. But it was quickly followed by a wave of relief.

The release paperwork was simple. Just a signature.

Leo — Chelsea.

The name signed next to mine belonged to a girl I’d known for less than a minute. Not my wife. Not my mother.

“This way, Mr. Leo,” Chelsea said, leading me to a sleek, black car parked at the curb. It was larger and more futuristic than any car I’d ever seen.

I didn’t expect Ava to be inside, but there she was. She looked exactly like she had on the billboard, dressed in a sophisticated dress, her expression focused as she swiped through something on a thin, glowing slate in her hands.

A memory flashed in my mind: us, getting ready for our wedding. Ava hated being confined. Hated dresses. She’d fought me for days about wearing one for the wedding photos. It was only when I’d half-jokingly threatened, “If you don’t wear it, I’ll find someone who will,” that she’d finally relented. I worried she’d show up to the ceremony in a t-shirt. Now, looking at her, I wondered if she’d ever worn a dress for me at all.

Ethan had been the quiet, studious star of our department in college. I never thought Ava, with her wild energy and rebellious streak, would ever get his attention. But she did. For him, she shed her tomboy persona, abandoned her crew of misfit friends, and started wearing skirts, pretending to be a model student.

I knew it was an act. That wildness was etched into her soul. Their romance lasted exactly one month.

We had known each other since we were kids in diapers. To me, it felt like she’d just been lost for a month. After her and Ethan, we fell together naturally, got married, and were happy… until the day I saw them together again.

Chelsea opened the back door for me.

“Ma’am, Mr. Leo is here.”

Ava finally looked up. Our eyes met.

There was no joy. No anger. No shock.

Just a calm, unnerving stillness.