Nicolas’s POV
I arrived ten minutes early.
That alone should’ve told me how badly I wanted this to go right.
I stood outside Imani’s building with my hands shoved into my jacket pockets, watching students pass by like my presence there wasn’t loaded with consequence. Every instinct in my body screamed to pace, but I forced myself to stay still.
I was early, calm, and prepared. Everything I hadn’t been the last time.
Her terms replayed in my head like a broken record. I deserved all of it.
When I knocked, it was two soft taps instead of my usual lazy knock. I listened to my own breathing while I waited.
The door opened.
Imani stood there with a notebook tucked under her arm, hair pulled back neatly, face composed in a way that made my chest tighten. She wasn’t nervous.
She was in c
