The café was nearly empty, the low hum of jazz playing through the speakers as Elisia sat at the corner table, her fingers curled around a cup of coffee she hadn’t touched.
She had told herself she wouldn’t be nervous.
But now, as she watched the door, waiting for her father to arrive, she felt the weight of it all pressing down on her.
Cassie didn’t know she was here. And she wanted to keep it that way.
This—this conversation, this decision—was for her.
A familiar figure stepped inside, his gaze scanning the café until it landed on her. Edward Lockwood had always carried himself with a quiet authority, his presence demanding attention even in the simplest of settings.
But today, when his eyes met hers, there was something else there.
Something softer.
Elisia exhaled slowly as he m
