Gemotions

The notification popped up on Amelia's screen: "Chad Reynolds sent you a friend request." She almost dropped her phone. Her palms immediately slicked with sweat. Thirty years. Thirty years since she'd last seen that smirk. Her breath hitched.

She scrolled through the profile, a carefully curated image of a successful businessman in a crisp suit. A pang, a cold contraction, tightened her chest. He looked… good. Damn him.

A memory, vivid as if it were yesterday, surfaced: Chad, holding her lunch money hostage, his voice a low, mocking drawl. She slammed her laptop shut, the click echoing in the sudden silence of her apartment.