The house was quiet except for the soft cooing of the twins down the hallway. Emilia had drifted into a deep peaceful sleep beside him, her arm resting lightly across his chest. The scent of her shampoo lingered on the pillow, calm and comforting everything his heart had ever needed after a lifetime of chaos.
But tonight, sleep refused to come for Sebastian. He lay awake staring at the ceiling, an old ache stirring in the corners of his mind. It had been years since he allowed himself to think of her. Sarah
The name itself once felt like a wound.
He turned his head toward Emilia, her breathing slow and steady, the kind of peace he once thought he'd never find. Yet memories have a cruel way of clawing their way back, even when you're holding everything you prayed for.
He let out a breath.
Maybe it was time to stop pretending that part of him never existed.
---
Four Years Earlier
The sound of engines and oil-filled laughter filled the cramped garage where Sebastian worked under the mentorship of Tommy Raze, a man whose name was spoken with respect in the world of mechanical repairs. Tommy had taken Sebastian under his wing when he was just twenty, teaching him the art of patience something engines and people both demanded.
Boy, if you keep tightening bolts like that, you'll strip the threads, Tommy barked playfully from across the shop.
Sebastian laughed, smudging grease off his cheek with the back of his hand. Then maybe you should stop leaving me with old junkers.
Old junkers pay your rent, son." Tommy grinned. "And keep your hands too busy to get in trouble.
Sebastian smiled back then, life was simple. Work, sweat, food, and the quiet satisfaction of fixing something broken. Until she came.
He first saw Sarah one chilly evening at Mia's Café, just down the street. She worked behind the counter hair tucked into a messy bun, apron tied loosely around her waist, a small smudge of flour on her cheek as she laughed with a customer.
She wasn't the kind of beauty that demanded attention she was warmth in human form, soft-spoken and radiant in a way that drew him in like light through fog.
He came back the next day, then the day after. At first for the coffee, then for her.
You know, she said one evening, leaning over the counter with that teasing smile, you come here more than my regulars.m
Maybe your coffee's addictive, he replied, eyes holding hers.
Or maybe you are, she shot back, laughter in her voice.
And just like that, something began.
---
The next few months felt like sunlight after rain.
Sarah would show up at the garage sometimes, bringing him lunch in small brown bags tied with ribbon.
Tommy and Jason would pretend to scold him You're useless the moment she walks in here but the old man's grin always gave him away.
Sebastian loved her the way only a man with nothing else could with his entire soul. He fixed her bicycle, helped her study for her business exams, and dreamed of a small life together. He wanted to open his own garage someday, with her name painted on the door.
They dated for three years. He thought she'd be the woman he'd marry.
Then came Evan.
Evan walked into Mia's Café one afternoon confident, expensively dressed, and charming in the effortless way rich men are. Sebastian didn't notice him at first; he was busy changing the oil in a customer's car. But Sarah did.
She started talking about him innocently He's funny, she'd say. He tips big.
Then she began dressing differently, acting distant, canceling plans.
At first, Sebastian tried to ignore the signs. She's just stressed, he told Jason
But he wasn't convinced. Women who love you don't turn into ghosts overnight ...Jason said
---
The night she left was ordinary until it wasn't.
Sebastian had just closed up the garage, tired and covered in oil, when Sarah showed up. Her eyes were red, her hands trembling as she clutched her purse. He thought she came to apologize for the fight they'd had the day before. He thought love was enough.
Seb, she started, voice breaking. I can't do this anymore.
He froze, wrench still in hand. Can't do what?
This… us. I need more. I can't keep living like this aalways counting coins, always struggling."l
Her words felt like acid.
He dropped the wrench, stepping closer. We're building something, Sarah. I just need a little more time.
She shook her head. You don't get it. Time doesn't change who you are.
He looked at her like she'd just stabbed him. Who I am? I'm the man who loves you. The man who's given you everything I can.
And it's not enough! she shouted, tears spilling now. Evan… he...he offered me a job. A better life. He sees me.
It was the first time he realized that love could fail even when it burned bright.
He didn't beg. He just nodded, pain tightening every muscle in his chest. Then go.
And she did.
Without looking back.
---
For three months, Sebastian barely spoke to anyone. He lived like a ghost, spending his nights in the garage fixing cars that didn't need fixing. Jason tried to help, bringing food and beer, but nothing could reach him.
One night, Tommy sat beside him, both men silent. After a long pause, Tommy muttered, Son, heartbreak's like rust. Leave it long enough, it eats everything you are. You either scrape it off or let it consume you.
Sebastian looked up at him, eyes empty. How do you scrape off something that's under your skin?
Tommy sighed. You keep going. One engine at a time.
That became his mantra. Work became his therapy, noise his distraction. He stopped visiting Mia's Café. He stopped believing in forever.
Until one day, years later, Emilia Stone walked into his life fierce, brilliant, untouchable and looked at him like he was more than his scars.
She didn't care about his past or his bank account. She cared about the man underneath.
And that was when everything began to change.
---
Present
Sebastian blinked out of the memory, his chest rising and falling with slow, heavy breaths. Beside him, Emilia stirred slightly, murmuring something in her sleep before settling again.
He brushed a strand of hair from her face, his heart softening.
She was nothing like Sarah not in looks, not in spirit. Emilia didn't run when things got hard; she fought harder. She stood beside him when the world looked down on him. She was his anchor, his miracle, his peace.
He smiled faintly, whispering into the quiet, You're my luck, my redemption… my forever.
As the twins' soft laughter echoed faintly from their room, Sebastian closed his eyes, pressing a kiss to Emilia's forehead.
He finally understood that sometimes, heartbreak wasn't a punishment it was preparation.
Because losing Sarah taught him how to love Emilia right.
And this time, he wasn't letting go.