low and heavy, casting long shadows across the trail leading out of the villa

he decisions, the heartbreak, the awakening. As she walked, her mind retraced old routes car

iltered through the trees in pale streaks. The place was untouched,

near the edge

light. Yet something in his posture struck a chord - not fear, b

ame,"

. Her eyes narrowed, trying to

e letter was meant f

s - aged slightly, lined by time, but unmistakably belonging to Donovan, her former ment

e gone," she whispere

he said simply. "For

des. "You left without explanati

. "I wasn't ready to be

donment, confusion, and unspoken questions resting on the tip of

thing for me," she sai

a small, leather-bound journal. Its edges wer

erything I couldn't say then. Warnings, reflec

journal was heavy in her hands, not

n. The trials you faced - they were only part of a larger

sked sharply. "

oked towar

welcomed you hom

apped in th

ed toward

kened, and just for a second, she thought she saw movement

ead the journal. Protect her. And trust no on

, he was gone - melting into the tre

t, heart pounding with a mixture of fear and purpos

he start of so

hing