Zoey
It was almost evening when I heard the knock.
Three soft taps, then silence.
I froze.
No one ever came here. Tara had left for work hours ago, and I hadn’t ordered anything. My first thought was fear, the second was him.
I hesitated before peeking through the window.
A dark coat. The familiar tall frame. The way he stood — still, patient, like he knew I was on the other side.
Alex.
My pulse stumbled. For a full minute, I just stood there, unsure whether to open the door or melt into the floor. But then he said softly, “Zoey, please.”
That one word made every wall I’d built tremble.
I unlocked the door.
He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. His shirt was half unbuttoned beneath the coat, his tie loose, his eyes shadowed in a way I’d never seen before. Yet, when he saw me,
