The future arrived quietly.
Not with headlines.
Not with applause.
Not with threats.
Just a morning.
Ava Montgomery stood in front of the mirror in her dorm room, brushing her hair slowly, deliberately, the way she did when her mind needed anchoring. Outside, the campus stirred with its usual rhythm—students rushing to early classes, laughter echoing down the walkway, the hum of ordinary life reclaiming its space.
For the first time in weeks, Ava wasn’t bracing herself.
She was wondering.
What came next?
⸻
Jaxon noticed the shift immediately.
They were sitting at their usual corner table in the campus café, steam curling from their mugs, sunlight cutting across the wooden floor. Ava had barely touched her drink, her gaze distant.
“You’re thinking too loudly,” he said gently.
S
