His face looked strangely familiar, but I could not immediately understand why, because time had clearly changed him in many ways.
He glanced briefly at the board members before his eyes settled on me, and he continued to look at me for so long that I started to feel uneasy.
Then he suddenly smiled, and that smile made my heart tighten in a way I could not explain.
“The general manager… Did you apply to become his wife?” he asked in a tone that was slightly teasing but still deep and controlled.
The entire room fell silent, and I felt as if the world around me had stopped moving completely.
I looked at him carefully, and in that moment, there was no longer any doubt in my mind about who he was.
“Connor…” I whispered without realizing that the word had slipped out of my mouth.
The selection committee exchanged confused looks, clearly not understanding what was happening between us.
Connor raised his hand slightly and spoke calmly, asking them to leave the room for a few minutes so that we could talk privately.
One by one, the committee members stood up and walked out, and the door closed softly behind them, leaving an even heavier silence in the room.
I remained seated, unsure whether I should laugh, cry, or simply run away from the overwhelming emotions that were building inside me.
“You have grown up a lot, Avery,” he said first, breaking the silence with a gentle tone.
Hearing my name from his lips made something inside me tremble in a way that I could not control.
“You too,” I managed to reply, although my voice sounded weaker than I expected.
He stepped closer to the table and admitted that he had recognized me the moment I walked into the room, even though he tried to remain serious.
I smiled slightly and reminded him that he had never been very good at hiding his feelings, even back when we were younger.
He laughed softly and said that I had not been good at hiding mine either, especially when I was seven years old and shouting in the courtyard.
My cheeks turned red as I tried to brush off the memory, but he insisted that he remembered everything clearly, just like everyone else in the neighborhood.
We both laughed together, and the tension in the room slowly began to fade, making it easier for me to ask the question that had been on my mind for years.
“Why did you leave without saying goodbye?” I asked, unable to hide the emotion in my voice.
