Page 13 of Her Ohio Old Flame

He wanted to reach for her, to close the distance between them, but the invisible wall she’d built was impossible to ignore.

They finished their meals in silence, the easy laughter from before a distant memory. As they stood to leave, Zane glanced at her one last time, searching her face for something—anything—that might give him a clue to the secrets she was holding.

Her expression was calm, composed, but her eyes... her eyes betrayed her.

Asha reacted with a small jolt when Zane’s hand closed over hers, warm and firm. Despite the shock, his touch grounded her in the moment. She looked down at his hand, rough from years of firefighting, and her chest tightened. It was a touch that carried weight, the kind of connection she’d craved for years but didn’t deserve.

She glanced up at him, his hazel eyes locked on hers with an intensity that sent a shiver through her. He wasn’t the same boy she’d left behind, and yet he was—steady, strong, and quietly commanding. The same Zane who had once made her feel invincible.

But she wasn’t invincible. She never had been.

“I had to leave.” The words slipped out before she could stop them.

Zane tilted his head, his thumb brushing against the back of her hand. “Why?”

She parted her lips, and for a fleeting moment, the urge to tell him everything rose like a wave.

To confess the truth she’d buried so deeply it had shaped the very direction of her life. The truth that haunted her every time she thought of high school, her hometown… and the shame that had clung to her ever since.

The truth that she’d run.

Because ofhim.

Because their mentor—and everyone’s favorite teacher—had crossed a line, and she hadn’t known how to make him step back. It had started small. Flattery. Light touches. Harmless, she’d told herself. Until it wasn’t. Until prom night, when the smile she’d trusted became something else entirely.

She squeezed her eyes shut and clamped her mouth shut tighter. No. She couldn’t go there. Not now. Maybe not ever.

“I’ve already told you.” With years of training in suppressing emotions to guide her, she kept her voice steady. “College. Ambition. A chance to move forward in life.”

The lie tasted bitter, even though it had been her truth for so long. It was the version of her story she’d fed to everyone—her parents, her colleagues, herself.

But to Zane, it felt hollow.

His brows furrowed, and his forehead creased. Doubt flickered in his expression. “That’s not all of it.”

Asha’s heart thudded, and she tried to pull away her hand, but he didn’t let go. His grip was gentle, but it anchored her, keeping her tethered to a moment she desperately wanted to escape.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said tightly. “It’s in the past.”

“Is it?” Zane searched her gaze. “Because it doesn’t feel that way.”

She swallowed hard, her pulse pounding in her ears. Her instinct was to push him away, to shut him out before he could dig any deeper, but his obvious sincerity made her hesitate.

Asha closed her eyes briefly, drew a shaky breath. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Zane hesitated, his thumb pausing in its soft, rhythmic stroke. “Okay,” he said, his tone gentler now. “I won’t push.”

The relief was immediate but short-lived. The shame still clung to her, heavy and suffocating. She hated herself for not being brave enough to tell him the truth, for letting her fear win again.

At least to herself, she could admit it: leaving Peaceful hadn’t been about ambition. It had been a flight—a desperate attempt to escape the weight of what had happened, the pain and humiliation that had swallowed her whole.

The memory was always there, waiting. That night after prom. The dizzy confusion. The too-sweet punch. The way he’d smiled, guiding her away from the crowd with a hand at the small of her back, like he was doing her a favor.

She didn’t know what she’d expected, maybe something related to her studies or her university application.

She hadn’t expected him to kiss her, to push her down and take what wasn’t his to take.

She remembered the sudden pressure, and the tearing, all-consuming pain. Her body resisting, but his insistence stronger. The shock of it.

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