Dennis stand lonely in his well classic office, staring at the rain falling outside. He was dressed in a nice suit; his phone on the table kept beeping for messages. On the table and walls were different awards for projects he won. And truly his name carried weight in the business all around. But inside, he felt lonely.

In fact ,he was really tired from life. No doubt, he had money, a big house, and a good job. Yet, something was missing inside him, which was true love and the memories of an incident keeps coming up in his mind.

He looked at the beautiful photo on his table. It was him and Jenny, his co-worker and also his girlfriend, smiling at a company retreat. That smile was lovely. But on that day, everything changed.

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_{🫥⚡ Flashback......}

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It was a Friday evening after the company retreat. Dennis was working very late. Jenny walked into his office with two cups of coffee.

“You’ve been here since morning; we have to go,” she said.

“I have things to finish up,”Dennis replied without looking up.

Jenny sat down on the chair. “We need to talk.”

Dennis sighed. “Hmmm! About what?”

“About us and work. You’ve really changed on me. You really focus on work every day. You treat people like they’re below you.”Jenny said.

Dennis leaned back. “I’m building something big. You should understand.”

Jenny frowned. “I do. But you’re losing yourself. And you’re losing me.”

Dennis raised his voice. “I don’t have time for this. Can you stop distracting me with this emotional talk of yours.” Angrily, he closed the laptop and walked out of the office.

Jenny, feeling sad and angry, stood up too and said. “You don’t have time for me. Fine, that’s clear.”

She also walked out, and she never came back again. No goodbye. No second chance.

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_{Present Day}

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Dennis dropped the photo. No crack or break in the photo, but something inside him was broken 💔.

The next day, he drove to a quiet part of town. He had heard of the new small learning and reading center. He didn’t plan to go in—but he did just to clear off his mind with some books.

Inside the library, children were reading. Volunteers moved around. And there she was—Jenny. She looked more different now. Stronger, I mean.

She saw him. Her face stayed calm.

“Dennis,” she first called him.

“Hi,” he replied. “I didn’t know you own here; I saw your name on the billboard. I just wanted to come and clear my mind off.”

Jenny nodded. “Okay, and you’ve seen me now.”

“I’m sorry,” Dennis said. “For that day. For everything.”

Jenny crossed her arms. “It’s been weeks now.”

“I know. But I never stopped thinking about it.” Dennis said.

Jenny looked at him. “You didn’t just hurt me. You made me feel like I didn’t matter. and you do look down on others.”

Dennis swallowed. “Hmm, yes, I was wrong. I thought success would fix everything.”

Jenny emotionally shook her head. “Success without love is empty.”

Dennis started coming back to the library from time to time after his work hours. Not to chase her—but to help her. He helped her clean the floors; instead of being seated at his office, he carried the books to the shelves instead of pressing his laptop, and he also taught business basics to teenagers instead of working on his own business ideas all the time. Slowly, Jenny saw the changes not in his words, but in his actions.

Just as things began to heal, Dennis’s company faced a very big issue. A junior staff member leaked a document. Dennis was blamed for this. His name was dragged online. But finally and sadly,he lost his high class job.

He tried his best to solve the issues to regain back, but it didn't work. He was left at level one and all his co-workers gone.

He went to Jenny.

“I’ve lost everything,” he said.

Jenny looked at him. “No. You’ve just lost what wasn’t real.”

Dennis sat down. “Truth be told, I don’t know who I am anymore.”

Jenny handed him a book. “Start here.”

Dennis left the corporate and high-class world. He joined Jenny’s center full-time. He taught, he listened, and he learned. He stopped chasing titles and started helping other people.

One afternoon, they sat together after a workshop.

Dennis turned to her. “Do you think we could try again?”

Jenny paused and looked at him. “We’re already trying. Just not the way you imagined.”

Dennis smiled. For the first time, it wasn’t about winning her back. It was about walking beside her, with no mask, no pride—just Dennis and Jenny.

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I place my invite to:
@ngoenyi,
@nsijoro,
@kouba01
to participate.

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Cc:
@dove11