Fire Revealed His Blindness

The airport buzzed with activity as I stood near the arrival gates, my heart pounding against my ribs. Ten years. Ten long years since Chloe Martinez had left for London, and today she was finally coming home.

I checked my watch for the fifth time in twenty minutes. Killian was supposed to meet me here at noon, but it was already 12:30 and still no sign of him.

"Maybe he got stuck in traffic," I whispered to myself, though we both knew he'd never let anything make him late for something this important.

My phone buzzed. Finally.

*Riley, something urgent came up. Can't make it to the airport. Sorry.*

I stared at the screen, reading the words over and over until they blurred. No explanation. No mention of what could possibly be more urgent than welcoming back the woman he'd loved for a decade.

The woman he'd told me about countless times.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Marcus, Killian's business partner, asked as he passed by with a small welcoming committee.

"No," I managed a smile. "I'll just wait for Killian."

But as the minutes stretched into hours, my smile faded. I watched Chloe emerge from customs, her confident stride and elegant appearance drawing admiring glances. She looked exactly as Killian had described her—timeless beauty, intelligent eyes, the kind of woman who commanded attention without trying.

The kind of woman I'd never be.

I waited three hours at our usual café across from the airport, nursing the same cup of coffee until it grew cold and bitter. Every time the door opened, my heart leapt, only to sink again when it wasn't Killian.

---

Two weeks later, the grand ballroom of the Meridian Hotel glittered with champagne flutes and designer dresses. Chloe's welcome-back party was everything I'd expected—elaborate, expensive, and completely focused on her.

I stood near the corner of the room in my simple black dress, watching as Killian guided Chloe through the crowd. His hand rested possessively on the small of her back, his eyes never leaving her face.

"Riley!" Marcus waved me over. "You remember Chloe, right?"

"Of course," I smiled, extending my hand. "Welcome back."

Chloe's gaze swept over me, assessing and dismissive. "Thanks. Killian's told me so much about you."

I doubted that very much.

"Riley's been my rock," Killian said, but his eyes were already drifting back to Chloe. "I don't know what I would have done without her these past few years."

These past few years. Not the twenty years we'd grown up together. Not the countless times I'd covered for him at business dinners or stayed up all night when he needed someone to talk to.

Just these past few years. When Chloe was gone.

"Riley's always been there," he continued, his voice growing distant as Chloe leaned in to whisper something in his ear.

I watched his face transform—the way his eyes lit up, the slight flush that crept up his neck. It was a look I'd never seen directed at me.

"Let me introduce you to everyone," he said to Chloe, completely forgetting I was still standing there.

They moved away, his arm now wrapped around her waist, leaving me alone in the middle of the crowded room.

---

"Another drink, Riley?" Jason, one of Killian's college friends, approached with a smirk. "You look like you could use it."

"I'm fine," I replied, though my stomach churned with anxiety.

"Come on," he laughed, nudging me. "Don't be such a tomboy. It's a party."

The word stung more than it should have.

"Seriously, though," he continued, lowering his voice. "When are you going to realize it's never going to happen? Killian and Chloe are meant to be together."

I opened my mouth to respond, but no words came out.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Killian's voice rang out as he tapped his glass. The room quieted, all eyes turning toward him and Chloe.

"I'd like to propose a toast," he said, his gaze finding mine across the room. "To Chloe—the woman who's always had my heart."

My breath caught in my throat.

"And," he continued, his eyes still locked on mine, "I think Riley should do the honors."

Suddenly, all eyes were on me. My hands trembled as Jason thrust a champagne flute into them.

"Go on," Killian urged, smiling expectantly. "Say something nice."

The room spun slightly as I raised the glass. Chloe's smug smile, the pitying glances from Killian's friends, the weight of twenty years of unrequited love—it all crashed down on me at once.

"To Chloe," I managed, my voice barely above a whisper. "To the woman who makes everything better just by being here."

As the words left my lips, something inside me cracked—a hairline fracture in the foundation of everything I'd believed about us. About him.

About me.