The crisp autumn air carried the faint scent of fallen leaves as Isabelle stood on the threshold of her brownstone, her heart a wild, uneven rhythm. She could hear the soft hum of cartoons from the living room—the twins, giggling together, oblivious to the tectonic shift about to occur in their small world.
A car door closed outside. Heavy footsteps—measured, certain—approached the porch. Isabelle’s chest tightened.
Then the knock. Firm. Final.
She opened the door.
Sebastian.
The sight of him against the backdrop of the amber-drenched street felt surreal—like the past and future colliding in her doorway.
His eyes, storm-gray and unreadable, swept over her face before softening, almost imperceptibly. “Isabelle.”
She swallowed against the lump in her throat. “They’re inside.”
His gaz
