Midnight wrapped itself heavily across the city afterward while black storm clouds drifted slowly beyond distant skyscrapers and freezing wind moved endlessly across the apartment rooftop beneath silver moonlight struggling weakly through the darkness above San Diego.
The rain finally stopped.
Yet the cold remained afterward.
Sharp cold.
Lonely cold.
The kind sinking deeply beneath skin and memories alike.
Elara stood near the rooftop edge afterward while dark hair moved wildly through violent wind and silver-gray eyes stared silently toward the distant ocean glowing faintly beneath scattered city lights and endless midnight shadows.
Everything hurt tonight.
Not physically.
Worse.
Emotionally.
Exhaustion settled heavily inside her chest afterward while memories tangled violently through her thoughts beneath the freezing rooftop atmosphere and endless city silence.
Ethan's disappointed expression.
Alexander's possessive fury.
The online humiliation spreading everywhere.
