LOGIN"I don't want to go back to what we were," she said. "I'd burn it down before I let that happen." Her chin lifted slightly. "So whatever this is," she said, "it has to be something we've never been." "From the ground up." The air between us had changed. Nothing had moved to change it. My finge
Edward's POV A flight of stairs. Elena's door was ajar when I reached the landing. I pushed it open and stepped inside. She was at the window. Coat still on. I shrugged mine off and set it on the chair by the door. The click of the latch made her shoulders tighten once before they released. "Y
Thursday. The registry doors opened before I fully reached them, air still adjusting around the gap, carrying paper dust and ink heat and the low sound of decisions being processed without ceremony, none of it pausing for me. My name came almost immediately. Not because I was expected—because the
Alicia's POV Apartment light warmed the room before I crossed the threshold. Elena stood at the counter, spoon tracing slow circles through a pot resting on low heat. Steam rose in thin strands, breaking apart under the ceiling light before it could gather into anything defined. My shoes paused b
Edward's POV I didn’t remember walking into the estate. I remembered the gate. Then nothing clean after that—just fragments of motion stitched together without pause. Headlights fading into the drive. The slow roll of tires over stone. The way the house lights adjusted as if it had already antic
The car didn’t stop at the main entrance. It passed the glass frontage of the building, continued past the visible entry point, and turned into the service approach that only functioned as an entrance once the guard stepped aside. No signage. No announcement. Just controlled access. I didn’t que
The escalator reached the bottom and my foot caught the edge. Daniel's hand was there before I stumbled. Fingers around my elbow. Anchoring me as I stepped off onto solid ground. I was still staring at him. Couldn't stop. Like if I looked away for even a second he'd dissolve into whoever I'd ima
Edward's POV The estate driveway ran ahead, hedges trimmed to exact lines. I parked beside Lucy's black sedan. Three stories of stone and glass that had always felt too large, even full. I walked to the entrance. Marie opened the door before I reached it. "They're already at the table, Mr. Val
"And you saw it." "In London. Thursday morning. I was working and one of my team members had a news site open in the background. I saw the headline." His eyes didn't leave mine. "Saw your name." "And you came back." "I came back." I processed that. "You weren't supposed to be here." "No. I was
Alicia's POV "Daniel." Elena stared at me from across the couch. Wine glass frozen halfway to her mouth. "Daniel. The guy from London two years ago, right? That Daniel." "Yes." "He sent the email." "He sent the email." She set her glass down on the coffee table with a soft clink. "Oh… wow."







