Ethan left the terrace first.

Not because he wanted to.

Because he understood this was the last kindness he could offer.

To go before she had to.

Inside, the gala continued — laughter, music, beginnings unfolding around endings.

He walked through it calmly.

No rush.

No collapse.

Just a man moving through a room where his past no longer lived.

Outside, the night air felt different.

Clearer.

Honest.

He paused on the steps, looking up once at the building behind him.

At the life she had built without him.

At the future she deserved without his shadow.

And for the first time, he allowed himself to name it fully.

Not...