Love with a twist

as like she and Adrian smith as he introduced himself to Raina were in a bubble, floating just outside the

s management for high-profile clients, how she'd worked her way up in a cutthroat firm in Chicago without f

t offer advice or apologies. Just quiet nods and the

after her third glass, when she admitted

ile. "Doesn't everyo

in the way Marcus used to look at her like an accessory, a prize.

ut not everyone forg

ed somewhere b

shimmering. She hesitated outside, turning toward the curb, prepared to call a ride. But when Adrain

ant to go ho

-

rain'

se, masculine, all dark wood and steel-functional, not flashy. There were no frame

r hands were still shaking. Whether from a

r small talk," s

tension thicken

t are you

dn't a

ard, closed the space bet

t was desperate, all heat and ache,

sed he

bedroom was dark and unfamiliar, but it didn't matter. Her w

th. Raina stared at the ceiling, pulse still skimming just beneath t

, half expecting a sm

hing her. Not possessive. N

u," she w

. "You don't o

but his warmth stayed close, like a pr

-

ext M

when she woke.

No phone number. No

cal. Like he'd carefully extracted him

ped in a blanket she didn't recogni

c. No desperation

had given her the only thing

he apartment, and stepped back into a wor

it

un to spark to life-something she wou

-

ff the morning chill. Traffic buzzed. Horns blared. Somewhere a bike chain clic

number, a vague promise, some awkward goodbye that would a

ory, low and calm. And the warmth of h

d into competing calendars and masked resentments. The barista recognized her but didn't comment

black coff

n't wan

-

at Day –

ked past the framed photos of her and Marcus-smiling at galas, on beaches

small suitcase. Clothes. Her laptop. A few framed photos of her parents, long passed. She left the en

exted

. Just for a bit. Please

ied almost

ot wine and chocol

her throa

key on the ki

ind a life she no lon

-

Later – Lind

d with freelance work Raina did from the couch. Linda didn't push. S

focus on a proposal she'd promised a week ago. Her stomach lurched again. Not n

nda asked, entering

d. "Probably stress.

ay, that's fair. But stress doesn't u

look

fr

aded. "Wait. Yo

r, "I mean... maybe? No. We used prot

d. The truth hove

ke a test," Li

-

Later –

n two minutes," but it

enched so tightly they trembled. Her chest a

imer

d herself

li

iti

orld

ot yet. She didn'

ust..

uld stop the truth

ba

ba

ber. No way to contact him. He had vanished like smoke from

-