The Paris sky that morning was veiled in a thin layer of gray clouds. There was no rain, but the air carried a scent—one of a farewell waiting to happen. The car carrying Evelyn and Theo moved slowly through the familiar streets of the city, though this time, everything felt slightly different.

Evelyn sat in the back seat, the window half open. Her hair fluttered in the breeze, and she let the cool air brush against her cheeks. In her lap, her passport and flight ticket to New York were neatly folded in a navy-blue folder. This wasn’t an escape, nor a closure. It was… a transition.

Theo sat beside...