The ride to the Brown's mansion was 10 minutes away from Ava's penthouse. I always wondered why Ava did not just live with her parents, knowing that their estate can probably accommodate 20 people along with their great great relatives. However, Ava did once mention that moving out can grant her more freedom and bring her more happiness and I'm glad she decided to follow her dreams.

Ava finally entered the gate and parked her car before getting out and waiting for me to follow. We weren't late, but we also weren't the first people to arrive so I rounded a corner to go say my greetings to Mr and Mrs Brown before Ava pulled me with her to meet more people. At first, I felt tense and awkward but I still tried to carry on a conversation every now and then. The more I did it, the easier it got to the point where I started having carefree talks with the other guests. It felt good to be there- for once, I felt content and unrestrained.

An hour into the party, we were all sat in the dining table, waiting for the final group of guests to arrive. I was busy talking to Miss Roseanne-a nice lady in her 40's who kept saying I reminded her of her niece- when the desired people finally walked in.

Apparently, they were the Brown's newest business partners and they were already very friendly with each other that the Brown's did not waste any time to pronounce their newly found friendship with them. I was busy listening to miss Roseanne gush about my doppelgänger when I heard the one voice I had only heard in my dreams for the past 3 years.

"It's a pleasure to start this project with you, Mr Brown," he said. I felt the world stop around me and my eyes involuntarily rose up to meet his enchanting green ones which I was never able to wipe out from my memories. I could feel Ava squeeze my hand from beside me to provide me with support. I felt the memories that I'd been trying to keep locked away in a cage slowly start to waver their way into my head and I couldn't stop the gasp from escaping my throat. His eyes showed shock for a millisecond before reverting back to the emotionless empty void that I had once gotten accustomed to. Without exchanging any words, I excused myself and pushed my chair back before standing up and walking to the bathroom.

In that moment, all the walls I'd spent my energy into building had suddenly crumbled down right before my eyes. I bit back a sob as I put my weight on the sink. What was supposed to be a day to move on happened to be the day he was brought back to my life and I knew I was too much of a coward to face him again.