KAELON’S POV

Paris.

It was almost midnight when I landed, but the city didn’t feel asleep. Lights blinked like stars in the wrong place, taxis honked like they were having arguments with the universe, and I... I was just a man racing against the fear of being too late.

I dialed her number the second my feet hit the ground. It rang once, then went straight to voicemail. I redialed, again and again, hoping each time she’d pick up. She didn’t. Her silence echoed louder than the jet engines behind me.

I didn’t wait. I rang my security team in Paris. I should have done that before I touched down....