(Clara)
The conversation stayed with me long after my father disappeared back into the conference center.
I should have gone home.
That would’ve been the sensible decision.
Instead, I found myself standing outside the building for several minutes watching doctors and researchers move in and out through the glass doors while my father’s words replayed endlessly inside my head.
“His younger sister became seriously ill.”
“Everything changed after that.”
“She died.”
The information felt strange.
Not because it was shocking.
Because it made Callum feel real in a way he never had before.
Until now, Professor Hart had always existed in carefully controlled pieces.
The professor.
The researcher.
The mentor.
The man who frustrated me.
The man who kissed me.
The man who immediately
