ARIANA

As the car cruised down the city streets, my thoughts were still spinning from everything that had just happened with Florence and the cold indifference in Grayson's one-word response. I stared out the window, trying to shake off the lingering tension. Matt was rambling on about something—probably another joke about shopping—but I barely registered his words.

When the car finally came to a stop, I glanced up, my heart skipping a beat. We had parked in front of a massive shopping mall. At first glance, it was just another sprawling complex of glass and steel, but as I looked closer, a strange sense of familiarity washed over me. The...