Cordelia hated how quiet her apartment had become.
Ever since Ash drove her home from work, she had tried to settle into her routine—water the plants by the window, double-check the lock, prepare Max’s food dish—even though Max wasn’t there to greet her with that clumsy wag of his tail. The silence bit into her bones. It wasn’t just emptiness. It was absence.
And absence was terrifying.
She sat on the couch, scrolling absently through her phone. Ash’s name sat near the top of her messages—short, clipped greetings. “Morning.” “You okay?” “Don’t skip meals.” The kind of things a man like him should have sent effortlessly, but she could feel the weight behind each word. And still… none of it filled the void that Max’s disappearance had left.
A knock came at her door.
Hard. Sharp. Twice.
