Chapter 97

Alex’s POV

The city had a way of erasing time.

A week could vanish in the spaces between stolen nights. Emily and I had been carving out time to be with each other.

We would stay in my apartment when no one was watching, late walks that doubled back on themselves to throw off suspicion, excuses that sounded good enough when repeated with confidence.

It was reckless and yet, every time I told myself I’d put an end to it, I found her again or maybe she found me.

Tonight, she sat curled up on my couch, her knees drawn to her chest, a sweater slipping off one shoulder.

The soft lamplight made her hair glow, but there was no glow in her eyes.

They were shadowed, tired in a way I couldn’t joke away.

“You’re quiet,” I said, breaking the silence that had stretched too long.

She glanced at me, then back down at the chipped mug in her hands. She hadn’t even sipped the tea I’d made her. “I’m thinking.”

“That sounds dangerous.”