"The Bad Boy Next Door Broke My Heart… 10 Years Ago"

Chapter 1: The Return

The moving truck pulled up next door on a Tuesday, the same day my divorce papers finally came through.

I wasn’t paying attention until I heard that laugh—low, rough, and still capable of making my stomach flip after all these years.

No. It couldn’t be.

But then he stepped out of the truck, all broad shoulders and bad decisions, his leather jacket clinging to him like a second skin. Jace Wilder. The boy who’d kissed me under the oak tree at seventeen and left me crying on the porch at eighteen.

Now he was back, hauling boxes into the house next door like he hadn’t shattered my heart a decade ago.

Our eyes met across the lawn.

His smirk was the same. "Hey, Ellie."

I slammed my front door so hard the windows rattled.

Chapter 2: The Scars We Hide

Jace didn’t stay away.

He showed up at my doorstep the next night, holding a six-pack and that same reckless grin. "Truce?"

I should’ve said no.

But the beer was cold, and the night was warm, and before I knew it, we were sitting on my porch steps just like we used to.

"Why’d you come back?" I asked, staring at the label on my bottle so I wouldn’t stare at him.

His fingers brushed the scar on his left wrist—one I didn’t remember. "Had nowhere else to go."

A lie. I could always tell.

Chapter 3: The Truth in the Dark

The storm hit at midnight.

A crack of thunder shook the house, and suddenly my power was out—just in time for Jace to knock on my door, drenched and holding a flashlight.

"You scared of the dark yet, Ellie?"

I rolled my eyes. "I’m not sixteen anymore."

"Good." His voice dropped. "Because I’m not the boy who left, either."

The flashlight flickered between us, casting shadows over the lines of his face—older now, harder. But his eyes? Still the same stormy gray that haunted my dreams.

I stepped aside. "You’ve got one night."

He grinned. "That’s all I need."

Chapter 4: The Past Unfolds

We didn’t sleep.

Instead, we sat on my couch, and for the first time in ten years, Jace told me the truth.

"I didn’t leave because I wanted to." His jaw clenched. "My dad dragged me out of town after the accident."

The accident. The one that put his brother in a wheelchair. The one everyone whispered was Jace’s fault.

"I tried to call you," he said, voice raw. "A hundred times. But your dad—"

"Changed my number." I finished, my chest tight. "He said you didn’t want me anymore."

Jace’s hands fisted. "I always wanted you."

The power came back on, exposing the tears on my cheeks.

Chapter 5: The Second Chance

Morning came too soon.

Jace stood on my porch, the rising sun painting him gold. "I’ve got a job now," he said. "A real one. And I’m not leaving again."

I crossed my arms. "Prove it."

He did.

With a kiss that felt like coming home.

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"Would YOU give your first love a second chance?" 💬