Ghost From the Past

Scarlett's POV

I didn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I heard that melody playing over and over in my head like a broken record.

By six AM, I was standing at my bedroom window, watching the sunrise paint the sky orange and pink. The pool area was empty now, no sign of whoever had been playing guitar last night.

Maybe I'd imagined it. Maybe my guilt-ridden brain had conjured up familiar music where none existed.

But deep down, I knew better.

A knock on my door made me jump. "Miss Rose? Breakfast is ready in the main dining room."

I threw on clothes and stumbled downstairs. The dining room was buzzing with excitement. Madison sat at the head of the table, practically glowing as she chatted with the other contestants.

"Scarlett!" She waved me over to an empty chair beside her. "Perfect timing. Jake just told us we're getting a new arrival today."

My coffee cup slipped from my fingers and shattered against the marble floor. Hot liquid splashed across my bare legs, but I barely felt the burn.

"Sorry," I mumbled, grabbing napkins to clean up the mess. "Clumsy."

"Are you okay?" Madison asked, her face full of concern. "You look pale."

"I'm fine. Just didn't sleep well."

Ryan leaned back in his chair with a cocky grin. "Nervous about the competition? Don't worry, there's plenty of Madison to go around."

"Ryan!" Madison laughed, but her cheeks turned pink.

Marcus, the quiet accountant, pushed his eggs around his plate. "I wonder what he'll be like. The new guy."

"Probably another pretty boy looking for Instagram followers," David muttered.

Jake Morrison materialized beside our table like smoke. "Actually, this one's different. He's already famous."

The table fell silent. Madison's fork froze halfway to her mouth.

"Famous how?" she asked.

"Let's just say he's someone very special. Someone who's going to shake things up around here." Jake's eyes found mine across the table. "Isn't that right, Scarlett?"

I couldn't speak. Couldn't breathe. The room felt like it was spinning around me.

"When does he arrive?" Ryan asked, suddenly looking less confident.

"Any minute now," Jake said with that shark smile. "In fact, I think I hear a car pulling up."

The sound of gravel crunching under tires drifted through the open windows. Every head turned toward the front of the house.

My hands started shaking so badly I had to hide them under the table.

"Should we go greet him?" Madison asked, already standing up.

"Excellent idea," Jake said. "Everyone to the living room. This is going to be quite the entrance."

The group moved like a herd toward the front of the house. I stayed frozen in my chair, staring at the broken coffee cup pieces scattered across the floor.

"Scarlett?" Madison's voice seemed to come from very far away. "Aren't you coming?"

I forced myself to stand. To walk. To follow the others into the living room where cameras were already positioned and waiting.

Through the front windows, I could see a black SUV parked in the circular driveway. The door was opening. A figure was stepping out.

Dark hair. Tall frame. Guitar case slung over his shoulder.

My world tilted sideways.

"Oh my God," Madison breathed, her hand flying to her mouth. "Is that...?"

The front door opened before anyone could finish the sentence.

He walked in like he owned the place. Five years older, more confident, wearing success like an expensive suit. But his eyes were the same warm brown I remembered, and when he smiled, my heart forgot how to beat.

"Hello everyone," he said, his voice exactly as I remembered it. "I'm Kai Sterling."

The room erupted. Madison actually squealed. Ryan's jaw dropped. Even David looked impressed.

But Kai's eyes were scanning the room, searching for something. Someone.

They found me standing in the corner, trying to disappear into the wallpaper.

Our gazes locked across the crowded room, and time stopped.

I watched his confident smile falter. Watched the color drain from his face. Watched five years of success and fame crumble away until he looked exactly like the twenty-five-year-old boy I'd left behind.

"Scarlett?" My name fell from his lips like a prayer. Or a curse.

The guitar case slipped from his shoulder and hit the marble floor with a crash that echoed through the sudden silence.

Everyone turned to stare at me. Madison's eyes were wide with confusion. Ryan looked back and forth between us like he was watching a tennis match.

"You two know each other?" Madison asked, her voice small and uncertain.

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. How could I explain? How could I tell this sweet girl that the man she was already falling for was the same man whose heart I'd shattered five years ago?

Kai stood frozen by the door, staring at me like I was a ghost he'd thought he'd finally exorcised.

"We..." I started, then stopped. "We went to college together."

It was the biggest understatement in history, but it was all I could manage.

"College?" Madison's face brightened. "How wonderful! You're old friends!"

Old friends. If only it were that simple.

"Something like that," Kai said quietly, his eyes never leaving mine.

Jake Morrison stepped between us, his smile wide enough to split his face in half.

"What a delightful reunion," he purred. "Kai, why don't you tell everyone how you and Scarlett know each other?"

The cameras circled us like vultures. I could see the red recording lights blinking, capturing every moment of my humiliation for America's entertainment.

"We dated," Kai said simply. "A long time ago."

"Dated?" Ryan laughed. "That's it? The way you both look, I thought maybe you were married or something."

If only he knew how close he was to the truth. How close we'd come to forever before I threw it all away.

"It was serious," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "Very serious."

Madison's smile dimmed slightly. "Oh. Well, that's... that's nice that you can still be friends."

Friends. The word hung in the air like a lie everyone could see through.

"Yes," Kai said, picking up his guitar case. "Friends."

But the way he said it, with years of hurt and anger bleeding through that single word, made it clear we were anything but.

"Well then," Jake said, clapping his hands together. "This is going to be very interesting. Kai, let me show you to your room. Everyone else, I think we need to have a little chat about today's activities."

As Jake led Kai toward the stairs, our eyes met one more time. In that look, I saw everything we'd lost. Everything I'd thrown away. Everything that could never be fixed.

Madison appeared beside me, her face full of concern.

"Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

I had seen a ghost. The ghost of the girl I used to be. The ghost of the love I'd destroyed. The ghost of the life I could have had if I'd been brave enough to fight for it.

"I'm fine," I lied, watching Kai disappear up the stairs.

But I wasn't fine. I was drowning. And the man I'd once loved more than life itself had just walked back into my world, ready to watch me go under.

The guitar case crash still echoed in my ears like the sound of everything breaking all over again.