ead. No matter how hard I tried to push it away, the notes lingered, repeating endlessly. Was I already ima

tle softness I glimpsed beneath his usual mask, that unexpected apology. Every time my m

lear my head.

. The air was crisp and cool, carrying the faint scent of dew and freshly mown grass. The sky

ed thoughts aside. The rhythm synced with my heartbeat, steady and grounding. With every step, I felt mys

up with the billionaire CEO. Not the girl whose life had

st

ided to remind

nto Maple Street and a

an W

to his body, damp with sweat, outlining every sharp muscle like a sculpture. His hair was still tousled from

the breath catch

sound annoyed but failing misera

dent smile spreading across his face

corner of my mouth twitc

ss tense, less guarded. Almost like the man beneath t

ng. The sounds of the waking city-cars start

ly, he asked, "Ho

me like a splas

ed, surprised at the vul

he words trapp

aid finally, tryin

y. "Running hel

t's the one time I'm not

Then he asked, "M

think it over, he was already joggin

side Damian Wolfe was going to be a

e, matching each other's pace

away, replaced by a strange com

ased him for being too disciplined. We laughed-a soft, gen

the steady rhythm of our feet against the

lf wanting t

's voice softened as he said, "I hav

ped, s

d quietly. "Losing my wife was th

en before. The hard edges of the CEO melt

say something comforting.

feeling a sudden tende

-the sharp divide between our worl

he mall. He was a father, a grieving h

that made him less in

nutes, the kind of quiet that did

where my street branched off,

e with that same intense

e to go on a d

gainst my ribs, br

ent, I ju

out hesitation

eached his eyes and softened his w

d he handed me a card wi

lt like a promise

e tension I'd been holdi

nd threw myself onto the bed, kicki

y nerve alive with e

-how good we'd look, h

quiet voice whispered wa

billi

man trying

't a fai

kered-a tiny, stubbo

s something w

to stop running

te were a mix of restless ene

zed with a message from

warm-no games, just honest c

random thoughts, even recommen

at my phone, wondering

date, I lay awake in bed

was a reminder that the world di

aybe, my world wa

hts, the tangled emotions, and the

sn't just a dis

oming some