Alina’s POV
The city seemed determined to test my patience today.
I tapped my fingers against the steering wheel, the rhythmic thump barely drowning out the blaring horns around me. The traffic hadn’t been this bad in days. Every light felt eternal, every second stretched too thin. When the signal finally flicked to green, I exhaled a sigh of relief and pressed my foot on the pedal—
Then I froze.
There, by the roadside, stood my father.
And beside him… Susan.
My grip on the wheel tightened. I blinked, certain my eyes were playing tricks on me. What were they doing here together? My heart began to thud, loud enough to drown out the impatient honks behind me. I tried to ignore it, to tell myself it was nothing. Maybe they just ran into each other. Maybe it was a coincidence.
But the u
