Outside, the autumn air hit her like a splash of cold water.
Marian stepped out of the glass doors of the building, her heels clicking against the pavement before coming to a halt. She inhaled deeply, the crisp wind carrying the faint scent of rain and city smoke. For a long moment, she just stood there—eyes closed, hands clenched around the strap of her bag—trying to steady the whirlwind inside her chest.
The hum of traffic around her was distant, muffled by the sound of her own heartbeat.
She had seen Daniel again.
After all these years.
And with her.
A bitter laugh escaped her lips—soft, humorless. “What are the odds,” she whispered to herself, tilting her face up toward the sky.
The clouds hung low and gray, mirroring the heaviness pressing down on her. She started walking towar
