CHAPTER 9

The thought followed him as they stepped out into the cool night air—two strangers bound by paper, silence, and secrets neither fully understood.

The night had deepened when they left the civic center, their newly signed certificates tucked neatly into a brown envelope.

Ethan walked ahead with his usual measured calm, not once looking back. His posture was composed, almost cold, but his mind was a storm of contradiction. He had done what he had sworn never to do again—let emotion, or perhaps curiosity, bend his will.

Ava followed a step behind, the heels of her shoes clicking softly against the pavement. She held the envelope tightly, as though it might slip away if she loosened her grip.

The city breeze tugged gently at her hair, and somewhere inside, her heart whispered that this was a beginning—a fragile one, perhaps, but hers

Ethan opened the passenger door of a plain black sedan parked nearby. “Get in,” he said simply.

She obeyed, glancing briefly at the interior. It was clean bu