Ten years later.
The city had changed.
New skyscrapers touched the clouds.
Technology evolved.
Power shifted between new billionaires and fading empires.
But some things remained untouched by time.
Like regret.
Like love.
And like promises made beneath stars.
The grand auditorium buzzed with excitement as cameras flashed rapidly across the stage.
Students from across the country sat nervously waiting for the final results of the National Young Innovators Competition.
At the center of it all stood a tall young man adjusting his glasses calmly while reporters whispered nearby.
“Isn’t that the Baker heir’s son?”
“They say he built the entire project himself.”
“He looks exactly like Gabriel.”
Leon smiled awkwardly under the attention.
He had never fully gotten used to fame.
Unlike his father.
At seventeen, Leon carried both Naomi’s quiet heart and Gabriel’s sharp intelligence.
A dangerous combination.
“Relax,” Gabriel whispered beside him softly.
Leon looked sideways immediately.
“You’re more nervous than I am.”
Gabriel laughed quietly.
“That’s because I know how stubborn you are when you want something.”
Leon smirked slightly.
“Mother says I got that from you.”
Gabriel froze briefly.
Then smiled softly.
“Your mother says a lot of dangerous truths.”
Across the auditorium, Naomi rolled her eyes the moment she overheard them.
Even after all these years…
Gabriel still looked at her like a man who couldn’t believe she stayed.
And honestly?
Sometimes Naomi still couldn’t believe it either.
The years after his memories returned had not been easy.
Love came back quickly.
Trust did not.
There were:
arguments
painful conversations
nights Naomi cried remembering the loneliness
moments Gabriel hated himself for things he couldn’t control
But somehow…
they survived it.
Together.
Because this time—
Gabriel refused to let her carry pain alone.
And Naomi slowly learned that loving someone again did not make her weak.
It made her brave....