Love was never part of the plan. But losing her? That was never an option.

——

Alexander’s POV

I stood at the threshold of her door, the cold morning air curling around me like a silent accusation. I called her name, my voice low, trembling but the silence that answered was heavier than any words. Her scent still clung faintly to the air, a whisper of jasmine and something softer, elusive. It teased me with memories, but the hollow absence of her face was a cruel reminder of what I’d lost.

I sank onto the creaking porch steps, the wood rough beneath my palms. The neighborhood lay draped in dawn’s...