Morning came.
Too normal.
Elena woke slowly.
For a second—
Everything felt quiet.
Calm.
Then—
It came back.
Him.
Her chest tightened instantly.
She sat up.
"No."
Her voice firm.
Not again.
She got out of bed.
Moved fast.
Like motion would fix it.
Shower.
Clothes.
Coffee.
Routine.
Normal.
"This is better," she said.
Lie.
She grabbed her bag.
Left the apartment.
The city felt loud again.
Alive.
People everywhere.
Everything moving.
Good.
That helped.
A little.
She walked into work.
Kept her head down.
Didn't think.
Didn't feel.
"Morning."
A voice.
She froze.
Daniel.
Of course.
"You look… tired," he said.
She forced a small smile.
"I'm fine."
He didn't believe it.
"You sure?"
A pause.
Then—
"Yes."
Silence.
He studied her.
Careful.
"You shouldn't be alone right now," he said quietly.
Her chest tightened.
"I'm not alone."
That was automatic.
Too automatic.
He frowned.
"You are."
Silence.
That hit.
Hard.
She looked away.
"I'm fine."
A pause.
Then—
"If you say so."
He didn't push.
Didn't stay.
Just walked away.
That made it worse.
She exhaled slowly.
"This is what you wanted."
Lie.
Across the city—
Adrian hadn't slept.
Not really.
He sat at his desk.
Files open.
Untouched.
His phone in front of him.
Silent.
Too silent.
He picked it up.
Looked at it.
Still nothing.
That shouldn't matter.
It did.
He set it down.
Picked it up again.
This time—
Opened her contact.
Her name.
Still there.
His thumb hovered.
One message.
That's all it would take.
He stared at the screen.
Then—
Locked it.
Put the phone down.
Hard.
"This ends now," he muttered.
Silence.
He didn't believe it.
He stood.
Walked to the window.
Looked out.
The city moved.
Like nothing changed.
But everything had.
Because now—
He noticed it.
The absence.
Of her.
Back at the office—
Elena tried to focus.
Emails.
Meetings.
Work.
None of it stayed.
Her mind kept drifting.
To him.
To what he didn't say.
That was the problem.
Not what he did.
Not what he said.
What he didn't.
Her phone buzzed.
Her heart jumped.
She grabbed it.
Not him.
Her chest tightened.
Just a notification.
Nothing important.
She set the phone down.
Slower this time.
"This is stupid," she whispered.
But she still looked at it again.
Just in case.
Nothing.
Her chest tightened again.
Because now—
She knew.
He wasn't going to reach out.
And that…
Hurt more than anything.
Across the city—
Adrian's phone buzzed.
He picked it up instantly.
Not her.
His expression darkened.
"What?" he said.
A pause.
Then—
"She's at work."
Silence.
His grip tightened.
"Keep eyes on her."
Another pause.
"No mistakes."
He ended the call.
Looked out the window again.
His jaw tightened.
"You're not safe," he muttered.
But this time—
He wasn't there.
And that…
Was the problem.