By the time the week began to lean toward Friday, Sylvie felt like she was counting down to something she hadn’t agreed to, something that had been decided for her without ever asking what she wanted.
The days moved forward regardless.
Wednesday arrived quietly.
She woke that morning already tired, the kind of tired that had nothing to do with sleep. Her routine carried her through the early hours, getting dressed, glancing at her reflection longer than usual, smoothing invisible creases from her clothes. Everything felt automatic, practiced, like she was moving through motions she’d perfected long ago.
Zade’s birthday. His birthday had been on Wednesday.
The club on Friday was just… for fun. For him.
She remembered it midway through the morning while going through her emails. The re
