We headed toward the elevators, weaving through clusters of shoppers with bags piled up their arms. The girls chatted quietly behind me, still buzzing about their finds from Nuppia. When the elevator arrived, we all stepped inside. Jasmine leaned her shoulder against the glass panel, Nala checked one of the necklaces she bought, Kim fixed her hair, and Minne clutched her small bag like it was a treasure.
The elevator rose smoothly to the next floor, opening into a hallway full of tiny kiosks and café scents drifting through the air. We walked toward the coffee shop tucked in the corner of the atrium, its warm lighting spilling out over the tiled floor.
And then I saw her. Julia, my ex.
Standing near a shoe store, holding two boxes in a shopping bag, her long black hair falling over her shoulders in straight, sleek curtains. The same sharp eyes behind the same sharp glasses. Walking alone, absorbed in her own world—until she looked up.
Her steps halted.
