Chapter 29

• The conversation hung in the air, charged with their shared tension and history. Each glance was a reminder of their past, and every word was a thread tugging at the fabric of what could have been. Charlotte felt exposed, temporarily adrift in the eddy of emotions surrounding them.
• As the car glided through the familiar streets, Charlotte found herself counting down the blocks to her apartment, not wanting to go home but knowing she had to. The moment felt fleeting, like a bubble ready to pop, and she wished desperately for more time—time to clear the distance that had grown between them over the years, to explore the flickering hope that perhaps they might find a way back to one another.
• When they finally arrived at her building, Damien pulled the car to a stop, the engine purring softly beneath them. He turned to face her, his eyes searching hers for something—an answer, a clue, a reflection of the shared connection they had both felt tonight.