"It is," Deva said. "And I hope someday you'll see that it's for the best."
"Deva," Harry said, his voice softening as he looked at her. "I'm sorry for the way I treated you earlier today. You deserve happiness, and I shouldn't have spoken to you like that." He paused, running a hand over his shaved head. "I guess I'll always hold out hope for us, even if it's just a tiny ember."
"Thank you for the apology," Deva said, her voice barely more than a whisper. "We both know that's not what we need right now."
"Right." He sighed, looking down at his shoes. "Still, it's hard to let go completely."
"Nothing worth doing is ever easy," she said, her eyes tender but firm.
"True enough," he said, though his frown remained etched on his face.
Deva shifted her weight from one foot to the other before speaking again. "There's something else we need to talk about." She hesitated, her courage wavering for a moment, before plunging ahead. "The café caught fire recently," she said softly, watching his reaction.
"Jesus," Harry said, but he didn't look surprised. Interesting. Either he was involved, or it was just small town gossip. "Are you okay? Was anyone hurt?"
"No, everyone's fine," she said. "There's more to it than just a random accident. Someone has put a curse on the place."
"A curse?" Harry said, his incredulity palpable. Now he really did look surprised. Even more interesting. "Are you sure about this?"
"Positive," she said, her expression grave. "It was confirmed by Beth. Someone is trying to sabotage me, but I don't know who or why."
"Damn." he ran a hand through the air as if grasping for answers. "That's—that'sinsane, Deva. I don't even know what to say. I heard about the fire, but not the curse. That's someseriously messed up stuff." He shook his head, clearly as disturbed by the whole situation as we were. "I'll keep an ear out, okay? If I hear anything that might help, I'll let you know."
"Thank you, Harry," Deva said, and for a moment, I could see a glimpse of their past together, a time when they had been allies instead of adversaries. It was strange to think that love could morph into something so fractured and painful, but then again, life had a way of throwing curveballs at the most inconvenient times. This particular curveball had been lobbed right at Deva's heart.
"Take care of yourself," he said sincerely. "Don't hesitate to reach out if you need anything. Even if it's just someone to talk to."
"Same goes for you," she said. It was a bittersweet moment, watching two people who had once loved each other deeply now standing on opposite sides of an invisible divide.
"Goodbye," Deva said softly, and she meant it, not just for tonight, but for all the yesterdays and tomorrows that stretched out between them.
"Goodbye," he said, his eyes filled with a sadness that mirrored her own.
As we turned away from him and walked back toward the car, the night felt heavier somehow, like the weight of their shared history was pressing down on us like a leaden blanket. I glanced over at Deva, her face pale and drawn in the moonlight, and a surge of protectiveness coursed through me. Whatever it took to help her through this, I was prepared to do.
"Come on." I nodded toward the car. "Let's go home and regroup. Tomorrow's a new day, and we've got a mystery to solve."
The night was eerily quiet as we rode in my car, the silence broken only by our own breathing and the distant hum of the engine. The air was thick with tension, though not entirely unpleasant. An electric charge hung in the atmosphere, waiting to spark something new.
"Emma," Deva whispered. "I think... I think I'm finally ready for something real with Marquis."
Her words rang out like a bell, clear and true, and I smiled. Yay! After everything she'd been through, she deserved someone who would treat her right, and Marquis seemed like the perfect fit.
"That's amazing," I said excitedly, my hands gripping the steering wheel a little tighter. "I'm so happy for you. You two will be great together."
"It took me a while to get here, but I'm glad I did."
"Now, let's go celebrate your newfound love life, huh?"
Before we could even turn the next corner, however, Deva's phone trilled loudly, its vibrations sending an unexpected jolt of surprise through me. She fumbled with it for a moment before pressing it to her ear, her brow furrowing in concern.
"Hello? ... What? ... How did that happen? ... Okay, we'll be right there. Stay safe." Her voice trembled slightly as she ended the call, her fingers tapping nervously against the screen.
"What's wrong?" I asked, my stomach clenched with worry. Our lives had become a never-ending parade of bad news, and I braced myself for the next blow.
"One of the windows of the café just burst," she said. "For no apparent reason. Something's not right. We need to get there now."
"Okay, don't worry," I said, pressing down on the accelerator, urging us forward as fast as the old engine could manage. "We'll figure this out, Deva. We always do."
