Kael turned at the sound of someone calling his name, a voice familiar—too familiar.
"Kael? Is that really you?"
His eyes narrowed as he recognized the tall woman stepping out from between two parked cars. Sleek brown hair tied up in a ponytail, brand-name purse hanging from her shoulder, designer jeans, and a smug smirk curling on her lips.
Kael froze for half a second. Then his expression hardened.
"Natalia?"
Natalia Reyes. She stood in front of him.
Natalia looked him up and down, pausing just a little too long on his worn hoodie and scuffed jeans. Her eyes gleamed.
"Wow, it's really you. I wasn't sure at first. You've changed."
Kael clenched his jaw. The anger that rose in him wasn't hot—it was cold, coiled. Not at her. But at himself. At the kid he used to be. The boy who once thought love was simple, who thought someone like her could be real.
It was a bitter kind of rage—the kind that festers quietly in your ribs for years until it only takes one spark to reignite.
Back in high school, they had been neighbors. That was how it started. Just glances from across the driveway, occasional waves. By the time they got to college, Kael had fallen hard. She was beautiful, popular, always surrounded by rich and handsome boys. And he? He was the scholarship kid. Worn shoes. No car. Just grit and silence.
When he finally worked up the courage to confess his feelings, she didn't just reject him—she crushed him. Publicly. Her words had been sharp, cruel. Something about how he smelled like thrift stores and desperation. About how someone like her would never date a person like him.
Worse, her words turned him into a joke. Her friends started calling him "Beggar Boy." The bullying that followed was relentless. No one ever said it was her fault outright, but Kael knew where the dominoes began to fall.
Now she stood there, confident and smiling like none of that had happened.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked.
"Shopping," she said with a smirk.
Kael wanted to walk away. Hell, he should've. But something in her expression—smug, twisted nostalgia—held him there.
"Still chasing rich guys, huh?"
Natalia tilted her head. "Still chasing pennies, huh?"
The insult landed, but Kael didn't react.
She kept going.
"It's funny. I remember when you confessed to me back in college. You were so serious, like some knight in a fairy tale. Thought I'd say yes just because you were... what, kind? Honest? Broke?"
Kael flinched. Not because it hurt. But because he remembered how much it had.
"I remember," he said quietly. "I remember every word."
"Do you remember how I laughed in your face?" she asked, laughing again now. "God, I almost felt bad. But come on, Kael. You were nothing."
He should've walked. He really should've.
But he didn't.
"And now?" Kael said. "Still measuring people by their wallets?"
"Of course," she said. "That's how the world works. You either have it or you don't."
Kael looked past her for a moment, to the sky thick with smog and ambition, to the city that never gave a damn about anyone not already holding a winning hand. Then he looked back.
"You're right. That's how your world works."
Natalia frowned slightly, as if his calm unnerved her.
"Look, I didn't mean to bring up the past like that. I was just having a little fun with you. But seriously... you disappeared. After college, no one saw you around. What happened to you?"
"Does it matter?"
Her smile faltered for a beat. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Look, I know we didn't part on the best terms, but I was young. We both were. People say things. Stupid things. I didn't mean for it to get so bad."
Kael didn't reply. He just walked into the supermarket, leaving her outside for a few seconds before she followed him in.
She trailed after him like a shadow through the aisles. Kael moved, pushing a cart and tossing in cans, dried meat, first-aid supplies—anything that wouldn't raise eyebrows but could be useful across worlds.
"You're not gonna ask me how I've been?" Natalia said finally.
Kael scoffed. "I don't care how you've been."
"Come on, Kael," she pressed. "I know I was awful, alright? I messed up. But you were a good guy back then. I can admit that now. Maybe we could... start over? Grab coffee or something?"
He stopped, turning slowly.
"Start over?"
She smiled, hopeful.
Kael's voice was flat. "You humiliated me in front of half the campus. You laughed. You let them laugh. And now that I don't look like someone worth mocking, you want a reset?"
Her face twitched. The smile cracked just a little.
"I didn't know about your family then... I mean—"
Kael's eyes narrowed. "My family?"
Natalia paused. Just a beat too long.
"I just meant... look at you now. You've got this confidence. This vibe. Like you're someone important."
Kael's chest felt tight, but not from flattery. It was disgust. Thinly veiled greed in her tone.
That's it. She's looking for proof that I'm connected to something bigger. It's never been about me; it's always been about money.
She was probing, testing the waters. Wondering if the Lancaster name tied to the estate scandal had anything to do with him.
"I'm not someone important," he said. "I'm just a guy trying to live quietly."
Quietly, away from people like her, he added in his mind.
She took a step closer. "Kael, listen... I've made mistakes. But I've grown too. Maybe we could hang out again, just talk. For old times' sake."
Kael stepped back, his jaw tight. "There are no 'old times' worth remembering."
For a second, something dark passed through her eyes. Her smile fell away completely.
"So that's it? You're just gonna act like none of it ever mattered?"
He gave a short laugh. "It never did. I just didn't know better back then."
Damn, he's colder than I expected. He's not buying any of this.
Natalia's tone changed completely. "Tch!—Don't act like you're too good for me now. You think you're scary now? Just because you grew a spine? Please. You're still just a street rat with dreams. Don't act high and mighty now. You're still dirt poor, Kael. You're just pretending not to care. You think I haven't had better offers? I was just being nice."
"Then go be nice somewhere else. You think I'm the same dumb kid you used to kick around?"
Kael pushed his cart forward again, leaving her standing in the middle of the aisle. She didn't follow now. Just watching his back
Her face tightened.
The moment he turned the corner, his phone vibrated. A message from Eli.
"Done with errands. Meet me outside."
Perfect.
Kael made his way to the front, paid in cash, and bagged everything himself. When he stepped out into the parking lot, the sunlight felt harsh. Natalia was nowhere in sight.
Good.
Eli was parked in the same spot. Kael climbed into the passenger seat and closed the door with a firm click.
"Get what you needed?" Eli asked.
Kael nodded.
"Anything happen?"
Kael paused. "Nope."
Eli looked sideways at him but didn't ask.
"Alright. Let's get outta here."
The truck rumbled back onto the highway.
As they drove off, Kael let out a slow breath.
He had a new life now. A new world. And he wasn't going to let people like Natalia poison it.
He turned his face toward the window, watching the city roll by.