“What happened?”

“Someone is here asking for Emma. He’s sitting in my office right now waiting for you.”

“What’s going on here?”

The principal lowered his head. “He didn’t introduce himself. He only said that you know him.”

“Where is Emma?”

“She’s in the counseling room. She’s okay.” He glanced back at the office door. “The man inside asked to see her first. When we told him we needed to call you, he said that was fine. He’d wait for you.”

I placed my hand on the handle and paused.

I knew, even before opening the door, that whatever waited on the other side was going to change something.

I pushed it open.

He stood when he heard me enter.

For a full second, my mind refused to process what I was seeing. It felt like looking at someone from a dream I had buried so deeply I no longer believed he existed.

Then it hit me all at once.

My knees weakened, and I sank into the nearest chair.

“You,” I said, but it came out broken. “What are you doing here? This can’t be real!”

He looked older. Of course he did. So did I.

His hair was graying at the temples, and he looked thinner than I remembered, more worn down, as if life had slowly ground him down.

But it was unmistakably him.

“Hello, Anna,” he said quietly.

“Don’t.” My voice sharpened. “You don’t get to walk back into my life after all these years, after what you did, and act like this is normal!”

Behind me, the principal shifted.

“Should I give you a moment?” he asked.