Jason Jae had always known how to disappear.
But the world had a way of finding him again — and this time, it found him through her.
The hotel suite was dark except for the soft glow of the city filtering through half-drawn curtains. His laptop sat open on the desk, the muted hum of the air conditioner filling the silence. The article was still on the screen — Gigi Jasmine: The Woman Who Repainted Her Ruins.
A simple headline.
A photograph — her photograph — dominated the page.
She was standing beside one of her newest pieces, colors bleeding into one another like sunlight and storm clouds colliding. Her eyes were serene now, but also something else — a quiet defiance that hadn’t been there before.
Jason leaned back in his chair, the leather creaking beneath him. His thumb brushed ov
