Roman
I stared at the photograph until the numbers on my phone screen blurred together, and for a long moment I forgot how to breathe normally, because Victor Crane standing inside my own office felt like a violation I hadn't prepared myself to witness, especially with that vase, the one I had bought for Vivienne with my own hands only a day before, sitting there on my desk like a taunt aimed directly at the parts of my life I refused to let anyone touch.
Enjoy your vacation, Roman. I've been closer than you think.
I read the sentence three times before I finally set the phone down on the balcony railing, and when I looked up, the sky over the valley was turning a soft gold that should have felt peaceful but only made my chest tighten further, because peace had never once been something
