The following weeks brought a rhythm that Serena and Lucas hadn’t anticipated but welcomed nonetheless. After the excitement of Lucas’s impromptu racing night, life started to settle down. Each day unfolded with its own sense of calm, and the chaos that had brought them to this point seemed to fade into the background.
In the mornings, Serena would wake up early, her laptop set up by the large bay window overlooking Lucas’s backyard. She was a digital artist by trade, and her work ranged from illustrating book covers to designing character concepts for indie video games.
One sunny morning, she sat cross-legged on the couch, a cup of tea cooling on the table beside her. Her tablet pen glided over the screen as soft lo-fi music played in the background. She was deeply focused on an illustr
