Alina’s POV
He was frozen.
So was I.
For a moment that felt too long and yet not long enough, the world narrowed down to just us. The parking lot noise faded into nothing. The passing cars, the distant horns, the murmur of people walking by, all of it disappeared. It was just his eyes on mine, heavy and searching, and my heart beating so fast I thought it might burst out of my chest.
I could not read his expression. There was shock, yes. There was something else too. Something raw that made my stomach twist painfully. My body reacted before my mind could catch up. My fingers trembled, my chest tightened, and the ache I had been trying to bury for weeks came rushing back like it had never left.
I wanted to hate him.
I wanted to feel nothing.
Instead, I felt everything.
My lips parte
