Adela hadn’t gone more than a few steps before she felt someone grab her wrist. Surprised, she turned around to find herself face-to-face with Dexter Norman, whose expression was a mix of desperation and pleading. She had never seen him look so raw and vulnerable—like a man with nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. For a second, her heart clenched. Despite the tension and confusion between them in recent months, there was no denying that a genuine friendship had once bound them together.
Dexter’s eyes were dark with an urgency she had never witnessed before. When he spoke, his voice came out a little unsteady, as if he were holding back a surge of emotion he didn’t quite know how to handle. “Don’t go,” he said softly, but with an intensity that made each word land heavily.
Standing there by
