章 42: Feelings with No Answer      

Cole pulled his hand back, as if the phone itself had burned him.

Why now?

Why did he suddenly feel this emptiness gnawing at him, this aching void where Eve's presence used to be?

He had always been indifferent, cold even, to the point where people thought he didn't feel anything at all.

But Eve . . . Eve had been different. She had lingered in the background of his life, always there, like the steady rhythm of his own heartbeat.

And now, without her, everything felt disjointed, like a song missing its melody.

But was that enough to act on?

Cole leaned back, staring up at the ceiling, the weight of his thoughts pressing down on him. He wasn't sure. If he wasn't sure, then maybe leaving her be was the right choice.

Maybe this was how it was supposed to end—her drifting away, him staying locked in the safety of his solitude.