Chapter 72

• JUDY’S POV
• My thumb had lingered over the glowing answer button, wavering as a storm of emotions churned inside me. It had been so long since I had distanced myself from his cryptic and alluring world, a choice that had built an invisible wall between us.
• In all this time, he hadn’t reached out—not once—and I had convinced myself that this silence was a blessing in disguise. Perhaps it was easier to leave the past untouched, to let our connection fade into an uneasy stillness.