Chapter 98 The Fall

• Zara walked through the house like she was floating. Her cheeks were still warm from Leo’s kiss, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop smiling. The bouquet of lilacs and white roses rested gently in her arms, held like something precious because it was.
• She closed the front door softly behind her and leaned against it for a second, her forehead pressing against the wood. A quiet laugh slipped out, light and breathless, so unlike the heavy days she’d known before. She hugged the flowers close, the petals brushing her chin like they understood what had just happened.
• Then came her father’s voice from the living room. “Zara? That you?”