Her shoulders stayed stiff the entire day, muscles knotted tight as if her body had been bracing for something that never came. Even when she sat still, unease hummed beneath her skin. She reread the same lines on her screen over and over, not absorbing a single word.
By the time evening came and she climbed the stairs to her apartment, exhaustion weighed heavily on her limbs.
She wasn’t paying attention anymore.
Her eyes stayed fixed on the floor as she walked, steps slow and automatic, mind still somewhere far away. The sound of her own breathing felt too loud in the quiet stairwell.
She stopped only when she reached her floor.
That was when she lifted her head.
The corridor was empty.
Except for one person.
Alexander.
He was leaning against her apartment door—his back pressed to it, head lowered slightly. The heel of his foot tapped against the floor in a restless, uneven rhythm, stopping and starting again as if he couldn’t keep still. One hand was shoved deep into his pocket, fingers clenched tight. The other hung loosely at his side, wrapped in a white bandage. A fresh Band-Aid sat on his forehead, stark against his skin.
He wasn’t wearing his usual office clothes.
Instead, he was dressed in faded jeans and a simple sweater, the fabric soft, the look almost… boyish. Unguarded. Like someone waiting, not a powerful man who commanded rooms.
Mia’s heart skipped violently—once, twice, three times.
Just like the first time she had seen him in casual clothes like this.
The memory slammed into her without warning. That night. That version of him.
Pain bloomed sharply in her chest, sudden and suffocating, making it hard to breathe.
She forced herself to move.
As she walked closer, Alexander lifted his head. The moment he saw her, he straightened instantly, his posture tightening, shoulders pulling back as if he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t.
His eyes locked onto her face.
When she stopped in front of him, he spoke quietly, his voice low and unsteady in a way it rarely was.
“I missed you… so I came over.”
The words lingered in the air.
Mia didn’t respond.
She didn’t look at him again.
Instead, she turned away, her attention fixed firmly on the keypad beside the door. Her fingers moved with controlled precision as she entered the code. The soft beep sounded loud in the silence.
She stepped inside.
There were no footsteps following her.
Alexander didn’t come in.
Inside the apartment, the quiet felt heavy. She set her bag down on the counter, movements slow, mechanical. Her chest still felt tight, her heartbeat uneven.
A moment later, her phone buzzed.
