The city was quiet in the soft light of morning, the kind of calm that feels heavy with things left unsaid. Sunlight spilled through the tall windows of Derek’s mansion, painting gold on the marble floors, but Tessa hardly noticed. She moved slowly down the grand staircase, her fingers brushing the polished railing as if she could steady herself against the whirlwind inside her. Last night’s adrenaline had drained her, leaving a residue of fear she couldn’t shake.
Her steps were quiet. She replayed the memory of Derek’s sudden appearance in the dimly lit walkway the night before, the panic, the relief, the way her chest had nearly broken from the thought of losing him. And then the silence that followed, where nothing was said, yet everything hung between them, thick as smoke.
She reache
