The evening had settled into the city with a tired exhale.Office lights glowed behind glass like borrowed suns, flickering on as people emptied out in quiet waves. The street smelled faintly of rain that hadn't fallen yet, asphalt still warm beneath the cooling air. Somewhere down the block, a bus sighed at the curb. Somewhere else, laughter drifted, careless and distant.
Zane stood apart from it all.
He hadn't moved much in the last twenty minutes. Not really. He shifted his weight once, adjusted his grip on the stems in his hand, checked the building entrance without meaning to count how many times he'd already done it. The lilies were beginning to bruise where his fingers tightened unconsciously. The forget-me-nots trembled with every small breath he took.
This wasn't how he imagined seeing her today.Not outside her office. Not like a man waiting for a verdict he already feared.
