known his charm ca

men smiled before he finished his sentences. Charm was a language h

ver calculated

d that usually slipped past unnoticed. He was leaving his

lie

tur

as S

but because he had trained himself not to remember too closely. Then it came bac

eyes steady. She looked... different. Stronger, maybe.

see you here," Jul

replied. "I saw your name in the

one. No bitterness. That unsettl

ward the exit, silence

ed," Sophie sa

odded. "

'd done some

s landed

he said quic

"You don't have to explain

studied her face, searching for traces of the woman he rem

nued. "Every conversation. Every look. T

n swa

ftly, "I realized I hadn't misr

ice cut deeper than a

aid. This time, the w

I know you are. But apol

to leave, t

you're not a bad man. You just don'

n she w

r than necessary, her wo

a ba

ood one

ween suddenly fe

de earlier in the week. He told himself he ne

ab, letting the city slow him down.

ndow, watching people pass below. His reflection sta

ejection. From vulnerability.

wed him to walk away

il

one vi

? You we

mé

tated befor

someone f

it h

ered the

than I

ed before he

like discomfort. That's

closed

quiet disappointment. Of all the women who had l

m wasn't lonelin

account

u how to catch them-or how to hold them withou

ed up his p

eople, he typed. But I don't k

came slower

u are, Amélie wrote. You de

back against the wall,

d. That he was simply the kind of man who pa

, that belief felt like

ent yet somehow encouraging. The city

he realized something unsett

ways made hi

be loved-for real-he woul

ny breakup or confron