Immediately after Ava disappeared into the main building, I should have left.
But instead, I stood there for a few seconds, staring at the entrance.
Students moved about, smiling, chatting, and meeting new people.
Ava was now one of them. A college student.
A bad feeling settled in my chest.
I got into my car and reversed out of the parking lot of Pasadena University.
This was why I had stayed away for a month. The distance had been meant to solve problems, not create new ones.
Soon, I was on the main road, heading toward Virelli Petroleum Headquarters.
I had taken over the Pasadena headquarters immediately after my college exams ended, and today I had a meeting regarding a major merger.
My phone buzzed halfway through the drive.
I ignored it.
A second buzz followed almost immed
