Caspian

A whole month had passed.

And yet, not a single day went by without her name echoing somewhere in my head. Ava. Like a haunting melody I couldn’t shut off, no matter how loud I turned the world. I’d been trying to move on—God knows I tried—but I still caught myself staring too long at my phone, half-hoping, half-dreading her name would appear on the screen.

I was adjusting my tie in front of the mirror that morning, preparing for another empty day at work, when I heard a knock on my apartment door.

"Come in," I called.

The door creaked open, and Dolly stepped in, a mischievous little...