For months, Lillian lived as though she were borrowing someone else’s life. She woke, ate, and slept, but nothing felt anchored. Eventually, necessity forced her to move forward. Bills did not grieve. Rent did not pause. She accepted a position as an administrative coordinator at an urban development firm, a job that required focus even when her heart refused to cooperate.

Each morning, she walked from her apartment toward the city center. Her route took her past an old stone library with tall arched windows and chipped marble steps. And on those steps sat a man she could not ignore.