Chapter 15

The hallway was dim, narrow, and heavy with the scent of rain. Faint droplets tapped against the windows, the muffled hum of water slipping through cracks in the pavement outside filling the silence between us.

1 froze.

For a brief, breathless moment, I thought this was it.

The moment the truth would slip out.

That Pax would finally piece everything together.

That my plans to leave would be dragged into the open, no longer something I could quietly pack away with the rest of my belongings.

But instead-

He smiled.

“Of course we are.”

His certainty was effortless, unwavering.

He thought she was talking about Norway.

Relief flooded through me, but it came tangled with something heavier–something I didn’t want to name.

The girl parted her lips, as if she wanted to say more, but her boyfriend–quicker, sharper–seemed to sense the sudden shift in the air.

He grabbed her hand lightly, pulling her back, offering a quick, polite farewell before leading her away.

that, the moment passed.

silence stretched again, this time thinner, more fragile.

for me to move into

was exhausted.

Norway,” I

lingering at my doorstep as if searching for

if conceding to an unseen compromise, he

have dinner with me tonight?”

Chapter 15

he cut me off before

still angry, hit me, yell

voice was quieter now, rough at the edges, like he wasn’t

“Just

this. Don’t

then, really looked at

slight dishevelment in his normally composed appearance.

exhaustion beneath his eyes, the kind that lingered after

way his shoulders slumped just a little, as if carrying something heavier than he knew

my fingers tighter, nails digging

Pain.

lodged

Two years.

of real, honest

-Thad loved him.

small, quiet

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