RA'

fting behind me, no footsteps echoing too cl

g watched. Or at least... that's what I told myself. And th

fire that swallowed every breath I took. This wasn't the q

fingers trembling but

r. "Someone's been following me. Sending letters.

calm, professio

hreat or physical harm, there isn

What did they think this was? Someone slipping letters under my door, tra

sion. Every quiet corner felt like a trap. Even the elevator mirror

tched.

walked through it, the s

en I s

xed. His coat hung exactly the way it did in the blurry reflections I had noticed. His profile matched the angle

hear it in my ears. I stepped towa

t's you. You're the one sen

xpression sliding into

what you're

d dismissive, s

didn't back down. "Sto

r. Every sleepless night, every tight breath I

the pol

he notes, the messages, the moments I'd see

mirked. "Maybe it's a misunderstanding, ma

chest. But underneath the shame, th

There was a tilt to his head, a quiet curv

me with the same fear, only heavier now because som

the fear, and not from the horrible awarenes

e snapped, not in def

ond-guessing my instincts. No

in that lobby, surrounded by disbelie

uld

ow how yet.

ed. Now every step I took carried a sharpened sense of

n the same

im, I would not be the gi

be the