Three Years Later, He Came Back Begging novel Chapter 420

No wonder the Range Rover had looked so familiar.

After a brief moment of shock, Bonnie smiled warmly at the man standing before her. He was wearing a black jacket, his hair buzzed into a sharp, military-style crew cut, radiating an intense, formidable aura. "What a coincidence, Aiken."

She really hadn't expected to bump into him here.

Bonnie couldn't even remember how many years it had been since she last saw or spoke to him.

Everything she knew about his life was limited to his WhatsApp feed. He occasionally shared official police articles, which she would casually 'like.' And whenever she posted an update, he would always 'like' it back.

It was the most mundane digital friendship imaginable, their entire connection reduced to brief electronic interactions.

So seeing him in person felt somewhat surreal and unfamiliar.

Aiken was equally stunned, staring at her far longer than she had stared at him. His eyes locked onto her face, which had barely changed, instantly merging with a photo he still kept saved on his phone.

In that photo, Bonnie had been wearing the milk-tea colored scarf he bought her, wrapped in a dark gray overcoat, standing at the gates of her apartment complex, smiling softly as she told him to be safe on the road.

Today, she wasn't wearing that scarf. She wore a camel-colored cashmere coat, her dark hair cascading freely down her back. She wore no makeup, her features as classically elegant as ever, but now softened by a gentle, serene maturity.

She had changed, yet she was exactly the same.

Aiken's heart skipped a heavy beat. He forced a bright smile. "It really is a coincidence, Bonnie. What brings you to this neighborhood?"

Bonnie glanced down at her front bumper, noting a very obvious, fresh scratch. But Aiken's Range Rover was absolutely covered in battle scars—both new and old—making it impossible to tell which mark she had just added.

She couldn't help but laugh. "I was just dropping a friend off. Look at your car, Aiken. Do I need to pay for the damages?"

Aiken chuckled. "Even if you keyed the whole thing yourself, I wouldn't make you pay. Don't worry about it. This truck has been through hell and back with me, a few more scars won't hurt."

Hearing the grit in his voice, Bonnie could easily sense the brutal reality of a detective's life. His physical appearance confirmed it too. Her gaze swept over his deeply tanned face.

He quickly grounded himself. It had been years. Bonnie was twenty-nine now. It was perfectly normal for her to be dating or getting married.

Over the years, he had deliberately forced himself not to check up on her, throwing his entire soul into his police work. He used the adrenaline of solving major cases to fill the gaping hole left in his chest when he walked away from her.

Day by day, he survived. He had become a star talent heavily groomed by the precinct, hailed as a brilliant, up-and-coming detective with limitless potential. He had fully realized his father's dream.

He was an honorable, decorated detective.

No matter how exhausting, chaotic, or life-threatening it was, it was the path he had actively chosen.

Yet sometimes, in the dead silence of the night, he couldn't help but wonder. If he had chosen the safer, more stable path—a life where he could actually be present for a family and a lover—would everything be different?

If he had gone on that ski trip with her... would they have fallen deeply in love? Would they be engaged, or even married, by the time she finished grad school?