Emily’s POV

The morning light streaming into the penthouse lobby felt harsh, completely at odds with the frantic drumming of my heart.

Ethan was already standing near the grand marble pillars by eight o’clock sharp, wearing a dark navy sweater and holding two paper cups from the coffee shop down the block. When he saw me step out of the residential hallway, his face lit up with a hopeful, nervous smile.

"Emily! Hey," he said, stepping forward quickly. He held up one of the cups. "I got your favorite. Vanilla oat milk latte. I thought... well, I thought maybe we could drive to campus together since we couldn’t go on...