The message lingered in my hand like an ice cube pressed against my skin, the words freezing the warmth of the moment I had just shared with Alexander. It’s not over yet. Catherine’s name still flashed on the screen, her words a reminder that no matter how many steps forward we took, she was still lurking in the shadows, ready to strike again.
I swallowed hard, trying to shake the unease creeping up my spine. It wasn’t just the threat that rattled me—it was the fact that no matter how much we wanted peace, we couldn’t escape the chaos. It would always be there, just around the corner. The past never really left us, did it?
I glanced at Alexander, whose expression had shifted the moment he saw the phone in my hand. His eyes, so strong and sure in moments of crisis, were now filled with an emotion I couldn’t quite read. The calm that had been between us just moments ago had vanished, replaced by the weight of everything that was still unresolved.
He stepped closer to me, his voice low.
