Chapter 85

• Maya sat in the corner booth of a quiet café, her fingers drumming anxiously on the wooden table. The soft hum of conversation and the faint clinking of dishes around her barely registered. Her focus was elsewhere—on the man she had once loved, the man she’d called here today for answers.
• The door chimed, and Luke stepped inside, his gaze sweeping the room until he spotted her. He smiled—a hesitant, boyish smile that once might have made her heart flutter. But today, it only filled her with unease. He approached the table, pulling out the chair across from her and sitting down without a word.
• “Maya,” he said, his voice warm but cautious. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you.”