Chapter 238

• The air outside the clinic felt heavy, even though it was cooler than it had been inside. I paused for a moment, closing my eyes and letting the outside world wash over me. It smelled faintly of rain and dust, and it reminded me that life kept moving even when someone else’s story reached its end.
• Julian was leaning against the car parked across the street. He straightened when he saw me, his expression unreadable but his eyes fixed only on me. When I reached him, he did not ask a single question, only opened the door and waited for me to step inside.
• The silence followed us into the car. For a while, the only sound was the hum of the engine and the faint rush of traffic beyond the window. I stared out at the lights flickering on across the city, my thoughts still caught inside that dim room with Alessia.