Still You Still Me Still Falling novel Chapter 1

At the airport.

Sheila Jensen stared up at the massive billboard, her eyes catching the name of her ex-boyfriend: Edmond Halley. It took her a moment to realize that this very airport was one of the Halley family's many properties.

Three years ago, standing right in front of all his friends, she had looked at him and said, "It was just a fling. I never took any of it seriously."

And just like that, they had broken up.

They hadn't seen each other since. For the past three years, Sheila had thrown herself entirely into laboratory work both locally and abroad, virtually completely cutting herself off from the outside world—and from any news regarding Edmond.

As a result, it felt like a cruel twist of fate when she stepped out of the terminal today and saw him in the underground parking garage. Born into wealth and privilege, his aristocratic aura naturally set him apart from everyone else.

Sheila found herself staring at his face—a face she had lovingly studied more times than she could ever count. He truly was excessively handsome, with eyes so deep they seemed bottomless.

When his gaze swept her way, his eyes were as unreadable as still, dark water: cold, detached, completely aloof.

Their eyes locked. In that split second, the air between them seemingly froze solid. Barely twenty feet separated them. Yet the ghosts of their shared past, woven from love and bitterness, trapped them in an invisible net they could neither fight nor escape.

"Daddy!"

The sweet, ringing voice crashed through the heavy silence like thunder, shattering the spell and shocking Sheila's muddled brain back to reality.

A chubby, stumbling little toddler barreled toward Edmond. The towering man looked down, and that famously cold, stoic face melted into a breathtaking display of pure, tender affection that almost no one had ever witnessed.

He leaned down, scooping the little figure up into his strong arms. The child enthusiastically called him Daddy several more times.

Sheila swayed on her feet, the concrete floor spinning wildly beneath her.

Edmond... was a father?

Back then, he had sworn to her that he never wanted to get married and had absolutely no desire for children.

But three years was a long time. People change, and evidently, anything was possible.

Stumbling in her panic, Sheila practically fled the scene. It was only when she was safely inside her car that she realized her palms and back were drenched in a cold sweat.

Deep inside her chest, something ached so sharply she felt she might crack wide open. It was the exact same agonizing heartbreak she had endured three years ago.

Sitting in the driver's seat, she squeezed her eyes shut as hot tears instantly blurred her vision. Her hands shook uncontrollably against the leather steering wheel.

She was in no condition to drive. Just like the very first time she had heard that soul-crushing news three years ago, she was drowning in a wave of pain she couldn't contain.

Even his voice was ice.

Thurston opened his mouth to press the issue but stopped short when Edmond suddenly froze, his sharp brows knitting together, his deep eyes frosting over completely.

Who on earth had the power to make the unflappable Edmond Halley look like he was ready to commit murder?

Following his friend's intense glare, Thurston spotted Sheila.

So it was her. The heartless woman who had used Edmond and kicked him to the curb three years ago!

Ever since she walked away, none of them had seen Edmond offer a genuine smile. His entire inner circle hated her with a burning passion.

Meanwhile, Sheila never could have guessed that a mere hour after leaving the airport, she would be slamming right into him again.

At the airport, they had only shared a distant stare. Now, they were face-to-face in a narrow hallway.

The roaring in her ears returned, bringing with it the crushing weight of the heartbreak that hadn't even begun to subside from their earlier encounter. That tiny, cheerful voice shouting 'Daddy' kept dropping like a hammer against her bruised heart.

"Well, well, if it isn't Ms. Jensen," Thurston drawled, his voice dripping with venom. "What a charming coincidence."