Chapter 8

Alexander woke up before his alarm went off.

He opened his eyes slowly and spent a few seconds staring at the ceiling without moving.

The morning was unsettlingly quiet.

There were no footsteps from Elena in the hallway.

No faint sound of curtains being drawn open.

And none of the words he had grown accustomed to hearing every morning:

"You've finally woken up."

Without thinking, he reached toward the other side of the bed.

Then his fingers stopped against the cold sheets.

He quickly pulled his hand back.

As though the cold had reminded him of something he had spent the past two months trying not to think about.

He got out of bed.

He was putting on his black shirt when his reflection appeared in the mirror.

The same man.

The same suit.

The expensive watch.

The sharp features.

Everything was in its place.

Except his eyes.

They looked as though he hadn't slept in months.

He entered the bathroom, washed his face, then stood in front of the mirror for a long time.

He no longer knew whether he missed Elena...

Or whether he missed the man he had been when she was by his side.

He left the bedroom and headed downstairs.

The mansion was quiet.

Far quieter than a mansion of that size should have been.

He passed a small table, then stopped.

A small vase stood on it.

The flowers he had ordered to remain there weeks ago.

He approached them.

He brushed his fingertips against one of the leaves, then withdrew his hand.

"Even these went unnoticed until after you left."

He said the words to himself.

Then he continued on his way.

In the dining room, Victoria sat looking at her phone.

She raised her head when he entered.

"Good morning."

"Good morning."

She waited for him to sit down.

But he didn't.

She asked, "You have a meeting today, don't you?"

"Yes."

"What about lunch?"

"I have an invitation."

She raised an eyebrow.

"An invitation?"

"From a new business partner."

A brief silence followed.

Then she offered him a faint smile.

"Am I coming with you?"

Alexander looked at her for a second.

"No."

His answer was calm but firm.

Her expression changed.

"Why?"

"Because it's a business invitation."

She didn't reply.

Alexander picked up his keys and left.

---

The city was as crowded as ever.

Cars moved slowly through traffic, glass buildings reflected the sunlight, and people crossed the streets, unaware of anything about the man sitting inside the black car.

Alexander gazed out the window.

Several familiar places passed by.

A restaurant.

A café.

A small bookstore.

Places he had visited with Elena once.

Strangely, he couldn't remember the details of his meetings with her in those places.

But he remembered her laughter.

He stopped looking outside.

And closed his eyes.

Why were the smallest details the ones that remained?

---

About an hour later, the car stopped in front of a spacious house surrounded by trees.

The house belonged to Daniel Walker, Alexander's new business partner, with whom he had recently begun discussing a major deal.

Daniel greeted him at the door with a warm smile.

"Alexander! I'm glad you accepted the invitation."

Alexander shook his hand.

"And I'm glad to meet you outside the usual business setting."

Daniel laughed.

"I thought to myself that we'd be working together for a long time, so we might as well get to know each other away from our corporate offices."

They entered the house.

Everything was quiet and elegant.

As Daniel discussed some of the details of the deal, Alexander listened attentively.

But something made him pause.

A faint laugh reached his ears.

A simple laugh.

Distant.

Yet so familiar that it unsettled him.

He raised his head.

Through the glass window near the dining room, he looked toward the hallway leading to the garden.

Daniel stopped talking.

"What's wrong?"

Alexander didn't answer.

A woman was standing among the plants.

Her back was turned toward him.

Long red hair flowed down her back.

His breath caught in his throat.

He didn't need to see her face.

He didn't need a photograph.

Or a file.

Or men searching an entire city.

He knew that hair.

He knew that posture.

He knew her better than he knew himself.

The woman shifted slightly, as though she were about to turn around.

For the first time in two months, Alexander felt his heart, so accustomed to silence, begin pounding fiercely against his ribs.

Daniel spoke casually.

"Oh, that's Elena."

The world stopped for Alexander.

Elena.

The name he had searched for everywhere.

The name he had thought he would never hear again.

He stared at her from a distance, unable to say a word.

Then Daniel continued.

"She's my son Liam's private tutor. She's been excellent with him."

Alexander didn't hear the rest of the sentence.

His eyes were fixed on her alone.

After two months of searching...

Elena was standing right in front of him.

Real.

Alive.

And close enough for him to reach her.

But there was only one question he couldn't answer:

Would Elena still be... the angel he had lost?

Or had she become someone who no longer had a place in his life?