Breakfast was quiet.Vance sat at the far end of the table, coffee in hand, reviewing something on his phone. He didn't look up when Nerissa entered. Didn't acknowledge her.Nerissa saw Zane across from her, somehow lighter than he'd been all week.The deadlines were still brutal. The work wasn't done. But something had shifted in him.She felt nothing warm at the sight. He caught her looking and smiled, small, genuine, not asking for anything. "Morning.""Morning."That was all. But Jovi noticed. And at the far end of the table, Vance's thumb stilled on his phone screen for half a second before he scrolled on.****Zane found her by the frozen lake."I'm not bothering you," he said. It wasn't a question.She didn't send him away. She was curious what he'd do with the truth he'd found.He stood beside her, a careful distance. Not close enough to touch."I know I don't deserve you," he said. "I'm not here to ask for anything. I just... I'm glad you're here. In the same world."She looke
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