MK hadn't planned anything.
That was the problem.
If she planned, she would overthink.
If she overthought, she would back out.
And if she backed out, she would lose the chance.
So she moved on instinct alone.
Her eyes scanned the hall, searching every corner, every cluster of people. Laughter echoed, glasses clinked, conversations overlapped—but none of it mattered. The only face she wanted to see was nowhere among them.
Shriya was nowhere in sight.
MK felt her chest tighten.
Where are you? she wondered, her heart racing as if she were chasing something she could already feel slipping through her fingers.
She turned suddenly and nearly collided with Scarlet.
"Are you looking for Shriya?" Scarlet asked gently.
MK nodded at once.
Scarlet hesitated—she liked MK, she truly did. And a part of her wanted nothing more than to see the two of them fix what had been broken. But she also knew some wounds had to heal on their own.
"She should be in the garden," Scarlet said at last. "Take the left exit. You can't miss it."
"Thank you," MK breathed. "Thank you so much."
She rushed away before Scarlet could say another word.
Her footsteps echoed down the corridor as the noise of the hall faded behind her. The farther she went, the quieter everything became—until the only sound left was her own breathing.
She reached the garden.
And stopped.
Shriya was sitting on the stone steps beneath the open sky, her back slightly hunched, her gaze lifted toward the stars. She didn't look sad. She didn't look happy either.
She looked… calm.
And that frightened MK more than anger ever could.
"Shrii—" MK started, then caught herself. "Shriya."
She swallowed. Don't mess this up.
Shriya turned slowly at the sound of her name. She had come here to escape the noise, the questions, the expectations. Seeing MK standing there felt like the past stepping back into her present.
"Yes?" she said flatly.
MK's mind went blank.
All the speeches she had rehearsed in her head vanished. Apologies tangled with regrets, words tripping over each other before they could even be spoken.
"What do you want?" Shriya asked. "The hall is that way."
"No—no, I wasn't—" MK took a breath. "I was looking for you. I just… how are you?"
Shriya studied her. "What do you really want, MK?"
MK's heart thudded painfully in her chest.
"I ,I ,came to apologize," she said softly. "Shrii—I mean, Shriya. I know I messed up. I broke my promises. I hurt you. I know I don't deserve forgiveness." Her voice cracked. "But please… give me another chance."
She reached out and took Shriya's hand.
"I promise I won't mess it up again," MK whispered. "I swear."
For a second, Shriya didn't move.
Then she gently pulled her hand back.
"I'm sorry, MK," she said. "We can't be together anymore. I've moved on. And I want you to move on too."
She stood and turned away.
MK rushed forward. "You don't mean that—"
She tried to grab her again, but Shriya instinctively stepped aside, making MK miss.
"I do," Shriya said, her voice steady but firm. "And MK… don't make me hate you. Please. Leave me alone."
She walked away.
MK stood there, her arms hanging uselessly at her sides, words trapped in her throat.
How am I supposed to make you fall in love with me again… without making you hate me?
The question tore through her.
And without warning, she screamed.
Not loud enough for the hall to hear—but loud enough for the night to carry her frustration into the empty sky.
---
Shriya never returned to the Bravis Organization.
She didn't go back to the club either.
She wanted something new—something untouched by memories, something that didn't belong to MK's world. She wanted the past to stay exactly where it was.
In the past.
So she applied to become a skydiving instructor.
It made sense. During her military service, she had learned to jump from planes when landing wasn't an option—when terrain was dangerous, when enemies were near, when hesitation meant death.
The sky had taught her courage.
Now she wanted it to teach her freedom.
The first day she put on the instructor uniform, she felt lighter than she had in years. No ranks. No expectations. Just wind, gravity, and people learning how to trust themselves.
She smiled more often now.
Not because she was happier than before—but because she was finally at peace with what she had lost.
---
MK's life had taken a very different turn.
A year ago, she had stepped down as CEO.
She had handed the company to Jesse—permanently this time—and walked away from a world that suddenly felt hollow. Now she spent her days doing things that felt smaller but somehow more meaningful: community service, charity work, helping people who reminded her how fragile life really was.
But at night…
At night, she returned to the one place that still felt like home.
MKent Paradise Club.
It was the only place where Shriya still existed for her—not in flesh, but in memory. Every corner held echoes of laughter, late-night arguments that ended in kisses, stolen moments between responsibilities.
She sat on the rooftop one evening, legs dangling over the edge, city lights stretching endlessly below.
And she thought.
What's my next move?
How do you win back someone who had already let you go?
How do you fight for love without turning it into obsession?
How do you prove you had changed when the person you needed to believe you no longer wanted to look at you?
MK stared at the sky.
Somewhere up there, she imagined Shriya—fearless, free, no longer tied to the girl who had once been her whole world.
Can I ever be her whole world again, MK thought as she prepared to give it a try.