The rest of the day passed in a strange kind of tension.
Not loud.
Not obvious.
But constant.
Like something just beneath the surface, waiting.
I kept my focus where it belonged, on my work, on deadlines, on anything that didn’t require me to think about him.
And for the most part, it worked.
Until it didn’t.
“Ava, you’re doing it again.”
I looked up from my screen.
“Doing what?”
Lila leaned against the edge of my desk, arms crossed, watching me too closely.
“Thinking too hard.”
“I’m working.”
“No,” she said. “You’re overworking. There’s a difference.”
I exhaled quietly. “I have deadlines.”
“You always have deadlines.”
“And I always meet them.”
“That’s not the point.”
I leaned back slightly in my chair. “Then what is?”
Her gaze sharpened just a little.
“You’ve been off
