Flashback: Seven Years Ago

Zander sat alone at the bar, swirling his drink in silence. The noise of the crowd around him blurred into a distant hum. He wasn’t here to drown his sorrows; he was here to clear his mind. The past few weeks had been full of uncertainty, and the weight of everything he couldn’t change pressed heavy on his chest. His life was in flux, and he couldn’t tell if he was moving forward or simply floating.

Then he saw her.

Victoria.

She wasn’t the same woman he remembered. The confident, lively woman he had once known now looked like a shadow of herself. She was being...