Because this isn’t just a second chance.
It’s the beginning of a war I can’t afford to lose.
Chapter 3
A NEW DAY
To a mayfly, a single day is a lifetime
Della
The sun rises, indifferent to everything it burned through last night.
I stare at the pale light slipping through the curtains, cold and unforgiving.
Somewhere, in a forgotten corner of my heart, I hear my mother’s voice—the way she used to say it every morning, her smile brighter than the dawn itself.
"A new day. A new life, Della. Live it."
Her words used to make me believe anything was possible. That life was meant to be tasted, savored, danced with.
Now? Now they feel like a cruel joke.
I wake up in a hotel bed that doesn’t feel like mine, in a city that had once been home, with a heart that doesn’t know where it belongs anymore.
I stare at the ceiling, motionless, willing my body to move and my mind to stop spinning.
Just a few more days to survive this city. A few more days to shove last night into a locked drawer and pretend it never happened.
I’ve mastered that art before. I can do it again.
I push myself out of bed, every muscle stiff, dragging through the motions of getting ready—like I’m suiting up for battle, not a conference.
In the bathroom mirror, I barely recognize the woman staring back.
I touch my mouth, the ghost of last night still lingering there.
It was a kiss I’d waited for through a thousand nights... but it doesn’t deserve to undo the walls I built to survive them.
“You, —” I mutter, grip the edges of the sink, staring at my reflection. "Don’t you dare let him in again!”
A sharp knock at the door startles me.
"Della!" a voice calls from outside. "We’re going to be late!”
"Be right there, Adriana" I call back, forcing lightness into my voice.
She laughs. "You better be! You owe me for vanishing last night."
I close my eyes, pressing my palms to the cool marble counter.
Just a few more days. Then I’ll leave this city behind. Leavehimbehind.
* * *
I spent the morning buried in the last day of the conference, clutching to every workshop, every panel, every slide like they were lifelines.
For once, I was grateful for the endless talks about digital marketing trends, evolving social media algorithms, influencer strategies, and brand storytelling. It gave me something else to focus on. Something that wasn’t him.
