lena clung to him, her fingers gripping the worn leather of his jacket, the vibration of the engine thrumming through h

of rain and gasoline, and a pulse that matched the roar beneath her. Every turn was a def

f control. Elena tilted her head slightly, catching glimpses of the world she had never known: graffiti murals splashed across brick w

ht. Elena inhaled deeply, the scent of wet asphalt and distant street food mingling

retched endlessly, a constellation of lights shimmering against the velvet night. He kill

t time seeing it like this?" he asked, leaning against the rai

oser. "It feels... real.

aint glimmer of streetlights. "That'

surprising even herself. "Mess

tars. Elena confessed her exhaustion with perfection-the suffocating weight of expectations, the e

cage," he said finally.

" Elena ask

unreadable crossing his face. "Mi

ollow compliments, his about fixing engines and chasing sunsets. No titles, no

small flask, offering it to h

of whiskey igniting her throat. "To break

oosening, a quiet rebellion blooming in her chest. She wasn't sure if it was the whiskey, t

ill buzzing with laughter and champagne. Elena paused at the door,

ed, but Elena barely heard it. Her mind was still on the roar of the engine

nning. And she knew