The office was unusually quiet that morning.

Ava walked through the glass doors of Valen Global, holding her bag tightly over her shoulder. Her heels clicked softly on the marble floor, and she kept her head high, eyes forward, refusing to let her nerves show. It had been weeks since she started, and each day she grew more confident in her role. But today… Today felt different.

She knew why.

She hadn’t seen Damien in days. Just traces of him, emails, signatures, echoes of his name in meetings. But this morning, she had a meeting on the executive floor, and her heart was already pounding.

When the elevator doors opened,...