Chapter 1

Cold rain pelted sideways against my face.

I clutched the disconnected phone, my fingertips freezing. I couldn't bring myself to accept it, or maybe I was just desperately searching for an excuse that even I didn't believe.

Taking a deep breath, I dialed her number again. It connected on the first ring.

"Parker, why are you calling again?" Candace Richards's voice remained as gentle and smooth as ever. "Not used to being home alone?"

Suppressing the tremor in my voice, I brought up the weather alert flashing on the digital billboard across the street. "The weather forecast says a major hurricane is about to hit."

"I know," she chuckled, her tone dripping with reassurance. "Make sure you lock up all the doors and windows at home. Once I get through tonight's deadline, I'll pick a gift for you."

A sting hit the back of my nose. My knuckles turned white against the phone before I finally said in a low voice, "Actually, I'm in Nightalmoor."

Right then, a violent gust of wind howled down the street.

"Look out!"

Ten feet away, the coffee mug Benedict Wooten was holding tilted in the wind, spilling hot liquid all over his light-colored trousers.

Candace's full attention was instantly pulled away, and her worried voice came through the receiver. "Oh no! Did it burn you? Don't move. Let me get some paper towels."

She fumbled through her pockets for tissues and bent down to wipe the spilled drink off his pants. A few seconds passed before she seemed to remember she was still on the phone.

She lifted the receiver back to her mouth, stammering, "Parker, something urgent just came up. I have to go take care of it right away. What did you say earlier? The wind was too loud, and I missed it. I'll call you back later."

The line went dead with brutal finality.

I didn't bother making a third call. I just stood there in silence.

The freezing rain poured harder, stinging my face as it beat down. Unbidden, memories from six months ago began flashing through my mind.

A rare torrential downpour had hit my city. Running a high fever, I had taken an Uber to the hospital all by myself to get put on an IV drip.

When Candace had found out, she had canceled an important business dinner and stayed on the phone with me the entire night. She told me jokes, ordered hot soup to be delivered to me, and even kept precise track of the intervals between my IV bag changes.

I used to think that in a long-distance relationship, having a partner who cared that deeply was enough to make every hardship worth it.

But now, I finally understood how cheap words were when someone wasn't physically there. The devotion typed out on a keyboard and the companionship faked over a phone call cost almost nothing at all.

The gale intensified, causing the roadside billboards to rattle with screeching groans. I didn't march over to confront her. The truth was laid bare right in front of me.

I had traveled a thousand miles with a heart full of excitement to surprise her, only to end up looking like a complete fool. Storming over to start an argument would only make me look more pathetic.

Pulling my thin trench coat tightly around myself, I grabbed my suitcase handle and turned away, walking in the opposite direction.