Chapter 152

• The rain had stopped by the time I left the boutique, but the air still smelled like it had been holding onto the storm all day. The sidewalks glistened faintly under the streetlamps, each puddle catching its own small reflection of the light. I carried a paper bag with two pastries from the bakery on the corner, the kind Julian liked to have with tea at night. The streets were quieter than usual, the shops already closed, the city moving into the slower rhythm it only seemed to find after dark.
• When I reached the apartment, the lights inside were already on. Julian was sitting at the kitchen table with a mug of tea, his reading glasses low on his nose, flipping through a folder. He looked up as I walked in, and his face softened in that way it always did when he saw me after a long day. I set the pastries on the counter and hung my coat by the door, the familiar weight of home settling around me.
• “You’re home earlier than I thought,” I said, filling the kettle for more tea.