Chapter 11: The Past Came Knocking Again

Six months had passed since I left California.

Boston no longer felt like a temporary stop.

It had become home.

My research project was going better than I had ever imagined, and my professors had started encouraging me to apply for graduate programs.

For the first time, I was building a future without asking whether anyone else approved of it.

Then, one afternoon, I walked into the department office and found a familiar name on the visitor list.

Santiago Pierce.

My steps stopped.

I stared at the name for several seconds.

He couldn't be here.

I had made it clear that I wanted nothing to do with him.

I turned around, intending to leave before he saw me.

But a familiar voice came from behind me.

Alejandra.

I closed my eyes.

Then I turned.

Santiago stood a few feet away.

He looked different.

Older somehow.

The confidence he used to carry so easily was gone.

What are you doing here?

He held up a folder.

I came for an academic conference.

I didn't know you were here until yesterday.

I nodded once.

Then you should enjoy the conference.

I started walking away.

He didn't stop me.

That surprised me.

Instead, he said quietly, I heard about your research.

Congratulations.

I glanced back.

Thank you.

You really changed, he said.

I smiled faintly.

I had to.

He lowered his eyes.

Your family changed too.

I didn't answer.

He continued.

Your father sold the house.

My mother moved in with my aunt for a while.

Isabela transferred again.

I don't need updates about them.

I know.

He took a breath.

But there's one thing you should know.

I waited.

Isabela didn't just admit what she did to your milk.

She admitted why she did it.

My expression hardened.

She was afraid of you leaving.

She thought if you stayed in California, everyone would eventually choose her anyway.

Santiago shook his head.

She was wrong.

I looked at him.

No.

She wasn't wrong about them.

She was wrong about me.

He didn't understand.

I continued.

She thought I would spend my whole life competing with her.

But I stopped competing the moment I left.

For the first time, Santiago smiled sadly.

That's what I finally understand.

You never needed to beat her.

You only needed to stop playing the game.

His words stayed with me long after he left.

That evening, I returned to my apartment and opened an old box.

Inside were photographs from my childhood.

There I was beside Isabela.

Same face.

Same birthday.

Same family.

But somehow, I had always felt like the extra person in every picture.

I looked at one photograph for a long time.

Then I put it back in the box.

I didn't need to destroy my past.

I just didn't need to live inside it anymore.

The next morning, my professor called me into his office.

He had an offer for me.

A full-time research position after graduation.

I stared at the contract.

It was everything I had once believed was impossible.

I signed it.

That night, I stood by my window and watched the city lights.

I finally understood that leaving hadn't ruined my life.

Leaving had given me one.

And this time, no one else would decide what happened next.