The ballroom glittered with perfection.
Crystal chandeliers.
Golden lights.
Elegant music drifting softly through the air.
Everything looked beautiful.
Carefully arranged.
Controlled.
Exactly the kind of world Gabriel used to belong to.
And somehow…
he hated every second of it.
“You should smile more.”
Gabriel looked sideways at Vanessa Crawford standing beside him.
Beautiful.
Elegant.
The daughter of one of the wealthiest families in the city.
Everything people expected him to choose.
Vanessa adjusted his tie gently while smiling toward nearby cameras.
“The media is obsessed with this engagement,” she whispered playfully.
Gabriel forced a faint smile.
But internally…
he felt nothing.
Because no matter how much life returned to normal around him—
something still felt painfully incomplete.
It had been months since Naomi left.
Months since Leon looked at him with tears he couldn’t understand.
Yet somehow…
they remained inside his mind constantly.
Not clearly.
Never clearly.
Just fragments:
candlelight
rain
laughter
warmth
Naomi’s eyes filled with quiet love
And every time he tried reaching deeper—
pain stopped him.
Still…
the memories were becoming stronger.
More frequent.
And Gabriel was beginning to fear them.
“You’re distracted again,” Vanessa said lightly while guests continued arriving.
Gabriel blinked quickly.
“Sorry.”
Vanessa studied him carefully for a moment.
Then sighed softly.
“You’ve changed since the accident.”
If only she knew how much.
The truth was…
Gabriel no longer recognized himself either.
The old Gabriel apparently loved:
power
control
status
business strategy
But now?
None of it felt important.
Not compared to the strange emptiness following him everywhere.
Across the city, Naomi sat quietly beside a sewing machine inside a...