apartment, her body moving in familiar rhythms as she tried to rebuild the wreckage of the life she had abandoned. But there was no escaping the ech

bills, her fingers moving mechanically through the clutter

thinking of you.

ething that made her heart race a little faster. She hadn't expected him to reach out again. After all, the vulnerability she had shown hi

not after everything that had happened between them. She owed him more than silence,

th, Antonella ta

Really. Just... figuring th

of her emotions. She set the phone down, staring at it as if waiting for it to ring, for him

lipping between Jason and the mess she was trying to clean up in her life. She had to face Darren's betrayal at some point. The life they had built together, the future they

erie. She glanced down at the screen, her heart gi

'm in the area.

space to think, to process. But the truth was, she was terrified. Terrified of what his presence meant, terrified of wha

d quickly across the screen, typin

ssi: Sure. I

t-whether he was coming over for a check-in or if there was something more he had in mind. But she knew one thing for sur

he door slowly, steeling herself for whatever came next. And there he was-Jason Copper, standing tall

w rumble that seemed to echo i

anaged, her

away. But Antonella didn't move. Instead, she watched as he looked past her, his eyes brie

quietly, his gaze softening. "I ju

imple, sincere. And that sincerity cracked the wall she had built around h

, her voice barely above a wh

deliberate, as if he were trying to read her, trying to understand the silence that hung between them. Antonella found herself frozen, unsure of what to do wit

ar the window. "But you don't h

g that felt like concern but was deeper than that. There was something

quietly, her voice tinged with frustra

closing the distance between them. His eyes never left hers.

could she say? She didn't want to feel weak. She didn't want to admit that

y she didn't fully unde

voice trembling as the weight o

ching out instinctively to rest lightly on

allowed herself to believe that maybe, just maybe, things could be diffe

herself believe in the possibility

all of this," she said, her vo

f his lips gentle. "We'll

briefest of moments, Antonella allowed herself to

ew it wasn't going to

e-patient, unshakable-maybe it di