The coastal town had settled into its usual rhythm, the kind of pace Arielle had grown used to over the past months. Mornings smelled like salt and coffee, afternoons were filled with the hum of fishing boats returning to the docks, and evenings ended in soft quiet, broken only by the occasional bark of stray dogs or the distant sound of waves hitting the shore.
Life here was simple. That was what she’d wanted.
But it was no longer simple.
Because she knew.
Kairo was here.
Not in her home, not in her studio, not in any space she could point to — but he was here, somewhere close.
And she could feel it in ways she couldn’t explain.
It had been a week since Arielle pieced it together. A week since the confirmation had settled heavily in her chest like a stone she couldn’t shake off.
S
