Chapter 3 - The Invisible Rope
1310 Words
Calla
The message sat there for a while. Three blinking dots appeared, then disappeared. Then again.
Finally, the screen lit up.
TESSA:
"Wait—you saw him?? In person?? CALLA."
I sank deeper into the couch, nerves crackling in my chest. Before I could reply, she sent another.
TESSA:
"Are you okay? What happened? Did he say anything?? Tell me everything. I'm calling."
My phone rang seconds later. I stared at it for a long time.
I hesitated, then answered. “Hi.”
“Oh my god.” Her voice was breathless. “You saw him.”
“In the flesh,” I whispered, voice trembling.
“Where? How? Don’t tell me he showed up at daycare with an I’m Your Dad balloon.”
I let out a weak laugh. “No. He’s... he’s the client.”
Tessa went silent. “Come again?”
“For the penthouse project. Eli Williams. It’s him, Tess. He’s the one I’m designing for.”
“You’re joking.”
“I wish I were.”
Another long pause. Then, “What did he say?”
“That he remembered me,” I murmured.
“Well, damn right he should. That night was one for the romance books—and you ghosted him like a ninja in heels.” Tess said accusingly.
My lips twitched. “I didn’t plan to. I panicked.”
“And then raised a baby alone for three years while never telling him.” Still the accusing voice.
“Yeah,” I murmured, my gaze landing on the hallway that led to Lucas’s room. “Because I didn’t even know who he was. I didn’t learn his name until a year after Lucas was born and I saw it on a billboard downtown.”
Tessa exhaled, her tone softening. “I know, Cal. I’m not judging. But… what now?”
I closed my eyes. “I don’t know.”
“Does he suspect?”
“No. He just thought it was a wild coincidence.”
“Well, it’s not,” she muttered. “It’s fate, honey. And fate is a clingy little b—”
I cut her off with a sigh. “Lucas asked about his dad tonight.”
Tessa went quiet.
“Said one of his classmates has a dad who makes dinosaur pancakes,” I said, my throat tightening. “And then he asked why he didn’t have one.”
“Oh, Calla...” Tess sighed.
“I just told him he had me,” I whispered. “But I don’t know how long that answer will be enough. And I’m terrified Eli’s going to look at him one day and know.”
“You think he’d recognize himself in Lucas?” She asked.
“I do,” I said. “Same eyes. Same mouth. Same exact furrow between the brows when they’re confused.”
Tessa hummed thoughtfully. “That’s a dangerous resemblance.”
“I’m not ready. Not for this. He just walked back into my life, Tess. I’m barely holding it together.”
“Do you still feel it?” she asked softly.
I didn’t answer right away.
“I never stopped,” I finally whispered and closed my eyes.
Tessa didn’t say anything, but I knew she heard the tremor in my voice.
“You don’t have to decide tonight,” she said gently. “But this—he—he’s not going away now. So you need to figure out what you're protecting: Lucas? Yourself? Or your fear of being seen again.”
I stared at the ceiling, her words curling into my chest like smoke.
I thought I'd buried it. All of it.
But love…
Love doesn’t stay buried.
It waits.
And maybe—just maybe—it was time to stop hiding.
Calla
The message came two days later.
Eli Donovan:
“Are you available for an in-person walkthrough of the penthouse? Just you—I’d like to go over a few ideas privately.”
I stared at the text for a full minute, heart pounding louder with each second.
Just you.
Privately.
He could’ve easily gone through my firm. Scheduled a team meeting. But he didn’t.
I typed a short reply.
Me:
“Sure. Tomorrow at 10 works?”
His answer came almost instantly.
Eli Donovan:
“Perfect.”
I didn’t sleep much that night.
The penthouse was stunning—clean lines, floor-to-ceiling windows that framed the skyline like art, polished marble floors that gleamed like still water. But all of it faded the moment I heard his voice.
“You came.” He said as if in disbelief, seeing her there.
I turned. Eli stood by the window, a cup of coffee in one hand, shirt sleeves rolled, looking far too comfortable for a man with that kind of presence.
“You asked,” I said simply, clutching my tablet like a shield.
He smiled, slowly and unreadably. “I wasn’t sure you would.”
“I’m here for the job.”
“Of course.”
But neither of us moved.
The silence thickened. I looked away first.
I walked to the kitchen island and set down my things. “You said you had ideas?”
“About the kitchen layout,” he said, following me. “And also... the lighting in the master bath.”
He leaned beside me, his cologne faint but familiar.
God, he was too close.
I opened the file on my screen, speaking faster than I needed to. “We can explore recessed ambient lighting with accent spots—subtle but elegant. Same with the kitchen. Under-shelf lighting and brass pendants above the island.”
“Perfect,” he said—but I wasn’t sure he was talking about the design.
His eyes didn’t move from my face.
“I keep thinking,” he said quietly, “how strange this all is. You, walking back into my life after all these years.”
I forced a small smile. “It’s business, Eli.”
“Is it?”
He stepped just a little closer. “Because it doesn’t feel like it.”
I exhaled and stepped back. “Don’t.”
His jaw tightened. “You disappeared, Calla. Without a name. Without a word.”
“And I had my reasons.”
“Are you going to tell me what they are?”
“No.”
He didn’t press further. Didn’t need to.
Because, even though the room was quiet, something loud was building between us.
I needed to leave.
That afternoon, I picked Lucas up from daycare.
His teacher waved as we left. “Lucas was great today! A little shy with our visitor, but he was well-behaved.”
“Visitor?” I asked, adjusting his backpack.
“Mr. Williams,” she said with a smile. “We’re doing a local heroes week, and someone from Williams Enterprises came by to donate books. He stopped in to say thank you.”
My pulse stuttered.
Lucas tugged at my hand. “He was tall.”
My mouth went dry. “Did you talk to him?”
Lucas shook his head. “No. But he smiled at me. He had nice shoes.”
I let out a breathy laugh that didn’t sound like me.
He saw him. Eli was there. He stood in the same room as our son.
And I hadn’t planned for that.
That night, I watched Lucas fall asleep with his fingers curled around his stuffed lion. I sat beside him in the dark, heart aching.
Eli had looked right at him and didn’t know.
Not yet.
But how much longer could I keep the truth hidden?
Because if he ever looked closely—really looked—he wouldn’t need a DNA test.
He’d see himself.
And I wasn’t sure I was strong enough for what would happen next.
- Writer
