The rest from the previous day flowed into the new one without losing its balance. Violet felt it the moment she stepped inside the apartment again. The soft hum of the heater. The warm tone of the living room lights. The faint scent of tea still lingering from the morning they shared. Everything maintained the calm rhythm she had protected since she opened her eyes.

Yet beneath that calm, something else settled. Something she could not describe immediately because it didn’t press against her or demand attention. It simply existed like a quiet, growing pull between two people who had finally found a steady pace together.

Bryan closed the door...