Vincent’s laughter slipped into the dim corner of the bar, low and unguarded, the kind of sound that only escaped a man who felt truly at ease. It wasn’t loud or raucous, but warm—so warm it curled like smoke through the quiet between them, a sound of trust he rarely offered to anyone. His body mirrored that ease; shoulders relaxed, back leaning comfortably into the worn leather of his chair, a glass of amber whiskey tilting lazily in his hand. For that moment, the world beyond their table dissolved, leaving only the glow of half-lit lamps, the faint hum of music, and Lena’s quiet presence.
To Vincent, she was that presence. Steady. Familiar. Someone who listened without judgment, who never pressed him with demands or sharpened her questions into blades. In his softer moments, he might ev
