ant hum. It was like she and Adrain were in a bubble, floating just outside the world. No name

s management for high-profile clients, how she'd worked her way up in a cutthroat firm in Chicago without f

fer advice or apologies. Just quiet nods and the o

after her third glass, when she admitted

ile. "Doesn't everyo

in the way Marcus used to look at her like an accessory, a prize.

ut not everyone forg

ed somewhere b

shimmering. She hesitated outside, turning toward the curb, prepared to call a ride. But when Adrain

ant to go ho

-

rain'

se, masculine, all dark wood and steel-functional, not flashy. There were no frame

r hands were still shaking. Whether from a

r small talk," s

tension thicken

t are you

dn't a

ard, closed the space bet

t was desperate, all heat and ache,

sed he

bedroom was dark and unfamiliar, but it didn't matter. Her w

th. Raina stared at the ceiling, pulse still skimming just beneath t

, half expecting a sm

hing her. Not possessive. N

u," she w

. "You don't o

but his warmth stayed close, like a pr

-

ext M

when she woke.

No phone number. No

cal. Like he'd carefully extracted him

ped in a blanket she didn't recogni

c. No desperation

had given her the only thing

he apartment, and stepped back into a wor

it

un to spark to life-something she wou

-

ff the morning chill. Traffic buzzed. Horns blared. Somewhere a bike chain clic

number, a vague promise, some awkward goodbye that would a

ory, low and calm. And the warmth of h

d into competing calendars and masked resentments. The barista recognized her but didn't comment

black coff

n't wan

-

at Day –

ked past the framed photos of her and Marcus-smiling at galas, on beaches

small suitcase. Clothes. Her laptop. A few framed photos of her parents, long passed. She left the en

exted

. Just for a bit. Please

ied almost

ot wine and chocol

her throa

key on the ki

ind a life she no lon

-

Later – Lind

d with freelance work Raina did from the couch. Linda didn't push. S

focus on a proposal she'd promised a week ago. Her stomach lurched again. Not n

nda asked, entering

d. "Probably stress.

ay, that's fair. But stress doesn't u

look

fr

aded. "Wait. Yo

r, "I mean... maybe? No. We used prot

d. The truth hove

ke a test," Li

-

Later –

n two minutes," but it

enched so tightly they trembled. Her chest a

imer

d herself

li

iti

orld

ot yet. She didn'

ust..

uld stop the truth

ba

ba

ber. No way to contact him. He had vanished like smoke from

-