Chapter 40. They Try Again, Quietly

The first time they saw each other again after the train station, it was in a bookstore—one of those old, dusty shops where crooked shelves leaned into narrow aisles, and the second floor smelled of aging paper and lingering Earl Grey.

Alyssa drifted in on instinct, drawn by the golden light spilling through the front window and the way the sidewalk pinched in front of the entrance as if the universe were pointing directly at her and whispering, Here. She hadn’t expected to find him already there, buried in the poetry aisle, half-turned toward the spines, a book open in one hand and the other tucked nervously into his coat pocket, as though he were trying to keep himself still.

He looked up before she spoke. Their eyes met—quietly, without fanfare or sudden ache—and he offered her a soft smile that asked for nothing and said everything.

“Too predictable?” he teased, lifting the book he’d been reading.

Alyssa stepped forward, lowering her voice almost to a wh