The past two months had been a storm. I’d moved through it quietly, letting Jeffery’s drama burn itself out while Canna and I built our life in the spaces he tried to poison. Every investor meeting, every quiet dinner at home, every glance between us had been a tether, a reminder that calm could exist even after betrayal. And now, tonight, everything felt like it had led here.
I arrived at the restaurant first. It was one of our favorites, small but intimate, the kind of place where the tables were spaced just enough for privacy but close enough that the warmth of the room felt shared. Candles flickered on every table, casting golden light across the polished wood floors. Flowers; white lilies and roses were carefully arranged, their scent delicate, not overpowering. Every detail had been
