Fate rarely announced itself with drama.
More often, it arrived disguised as routine.
Bella had come to the Devereux Foundation offices for a meeting she’d earned on her own merit—portfolio polished, nerves steady, expectations measured. The building still carried the quiet authority of wealth and power, but it no longer intimidated her the way it once had.
She belongs in rooms like this now.
She was halfway down the glass corridor when the sensation hit her with sharp and undeniable.
Awareness.
The kind that bypassed logic and settled directly into her chest.
Julian stood near the conference room doors, jacket off, sleeves rolled up, posture relaxed but alert. He was speaking to Daniel, expression focused, controlled.
Until he looked up.
Their eyes met.
The corridor seemed to na
