I stepped out of the office building, the weight of the chaos inside pressing down on me like a physical force. The air outside felt colder than it should have been for the time of year, or maybe it was just the storm inside me spilling over. My thoughts were tangled—rage, disbelief, humiliation, and sorrow all wrestling for dominance in my chest.
And then, as if summoned by the mess my life had become, I saw him.
Nickolas.
Leaning against a sleek black car in the far corner of the parking lot, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes already on me as if he’d been waiting there forever. My feet halted. My breath hitched. Just seeing him unraveled me a little more.
"Nickolas again," I murmured to myself, as though his presence was a recurring symptom of the emotional plague that had ta
