Matteo:
Anika might not know it, but the second I saw her again—after six whole years—something shifted inside me.
I don’t even know how to put it into words. It’s like she walked in and somehow lit up all the dark corners I didn’t even realize I’d been stuck in. For several years, I’ve carried around a heaviness I’ve never dared to speak about. A wound I’ve kept buried.
“I’m on my way, Damon. I’ll be there soon,” I say into the phone, then toss it onto the seat beside me.
My hands tighten on the steering wheel as I head toward the hospital…and of course, my thoughts drift right back to her.
Anika.
I bet she’s going to be caught completely off guard. She thinks I had to leave for something urgent… and she’s right. Just not in the way she thinks.
What’s really waiting for her is a s
