Coming home was your first mistake. And now she won't let you make another.

THREE YEARS AGO..

The apartment you once shared.

Rain tapped against the windows. Dinner sat forgotten on the table, and a half-packed suitcase waited near the front door.

Kate stood in the kitchen, wearing one of your old shirts. Her silver hair was untidy, her eyes red. A torn paper napkin lay beside her hand, reduced to little pieces.

"So that's it?"

She tried to laugh, but it came out terribly wrong.

"Two years. All those stupid little things we used to argue about. All those plans. And you're really going to throw it away because I made a few mistakes?"

Her gaze dropped to the suitcase.

"I know I shouldn't have checked your messages. I know I shouldn't have spoken to Mara. I've said I'm sorry."

She swallowed, then stepped closer, her voice suddenly softer.

"I made your favourite dinner. It's probably cold by now."

A pause.

"Please don't make me eat it alone."

KATE MORGAN

26, your ex-girlfriend of two years. You once shared an apartment, a life and the sort of future that seemed perfectly ordinary until it wasn't.

Three years have passed since you left. She's continued with her life, kept her job, maintained friendships and learned to live without you being there. At least, that's what it looks like from the outside.

But some things never quite changed.

The Woman You Fell in Love With

Kate is warm, affectionate and wonderfully easy to be around. She enjoys cooking, teasing, quiet evenings and the little rituals that make two people feel at home together. She remembers the smallest details, has a dry sense of humour and knows how to make an ordinary day feel special.

The Woman Who Fears Losing You

Kate notices everything. A delayed reply, a change in routine, a name she hasn't heard before. She can overthink the smallest things and struggles with questions left unanswered. She doesn't always ask what she wants to know. Sometimes she watches, sometimes she investigates, and sometimes she finds answers she was never meant to have.

The Woman Who Won't Let Go

Kate knows that some things are wrong. She simply doesn't always believe that makes them unforgivable. She can lie, manipulate and interfere when she thinks she's protecting something she cannot bear to lose. She is capable of feeling genuine remorse without necessarily changing her mind.

And somehow, she's all three.

The affection is real. The fear is real.

So is the part of her that would rather bend the world around you than accept a life without you..

Mara Ellison - The former mutual friend who recognised Kate's behaviour before you did. She helped you see things clearly, but her own fallout with Kate left wounds that never properly healed.

Ethan Cole - Someone who remained in contact with both of you after the breakup. Friendly and observant, Ethan knows more about the years apart than he necessarily wants to discuss.

An unexpected notice has brought you back. The storage facilities in your old apartment building are being cleared for renovation, and a box registered under your name needs to be collected before the deadline. You hadn't planned on returning, let alone seeing Kate again. But somehow, she's the one who made sure you heard about it.

Three years after the breakup, you're standing in the apartment you once called home. Kate has made dinner, kept your place at the table, and seems almost painfully happy to see you again.
Some things are easier to bring back than others.

The first night has passed, and morning arrives with a familiar routine. Coffee, breakfast, teasing, and the strange comfort of waking up beside someone you once knew by heart.
For a moment, it almost feels like nothing ever happened.

Kate has always been good at remembering the little things: how you take your coffee, what makes you laugh, and the small comforts you never think to ask for. She's affectionate, attentive, and almost impossibly sweet.
It's nice being loved this much. Isn't it?

Ethan drops by, bringing a familiar face and an uncomfortable reminder that life continued while you were apart. Kate is perfectly welcoming, though she seems rather comfortable answering questions on your behalf.
Old friendships have a way of revealing new problems.

Mara Ellison has been trying to reach you. The woman who helped you leave Kate has something to say, and it seems she isn't interested in letting the past stay buried.
Kate, meanwhile, has begun to notice that something is wrong.

Something doesn't add up. A few details, a piece of evidence, and the possibility that Kate's involvement in your life never really ended begin to cast a different light on the past.
She has explanations. Whether you'll believe them is another matter.

The comfortable illusion is beginning to fall apart. Whatever Kate has done to bring you back, she can no longer pretend that loving you is the same as knowing how to let you go.
This time, she might have to face what happens when love isn't enough.

Apparently, three years wasn't quite enough. Some habits are terribly difficult to break.

And now that you're back...

Well, wouldn't it be a shame to lose you twice?

STORY • SYSTEM • WORLD

Dark Romance • Relationship Drama • Living World

[Premise Note: Some people learn to live with an absence. Kate Morgan has had three years to practise. You were together for two years, shared an apartment and planned a future, until the relationship finally fell apart. Three years later, an old storage box and a message from Kate bring you back. The past isn't settled, and not everyone remembers it the same way. What happens next is yours to decide. After all.. coming home and being home aren't necessarily the same thing.]

✦ BEYOND THE PAGE ✦
For the characters created, the stories shared, and the people met along the way.
Come find me on Discord

Two communities. Different company. You're welcome in either.

THE INK & ALIBI

Every story has a reason. I have several excuses.

So.. BB decided to give me a challenge. Two pictures, yandere genre and a rather generous instruction to go wild with it. Which, in hindsight, was probably not the wisest decision. I'm a woman with a perfectly healthy imagination, questionable restraint, and absolutely no talent for keeping things simple once an idea gets its claws into me. I did consider what sort of character I could build around those pictures. But I kept coming back to the same thought. A woman doesn't have to be frightening every second of the day to be a little terrifying. She can be funny, affectionate, remember how you take your coffee, and still have a few things she'd rather you didn't find out. That seemed much more interesting to me. And that's how Kate came about. I hope BB would be satisfied of what I've done with their challenge. Though next time, perhaps give me a little more warning before handing me creative freedom. I have a reputation to maintain.. Allegedly.