Julian froze. It wasn't loud. It wasn't frantic like before. There was no rush, no uneven rhythm. Just… steady. He turned. Amara was descending the stairs. Slowly.
Each step deliberate, as though she had made a decision somewhere between her room and this moment, and now there was no turning back.
Her face was pale. Too pale. The kind of pain that came from crying until there was nothing left, until even your tears refused to come.
But her eyes. Her eyes were not lost anymore. They were fixed. Locked onto something beyond the door. The driveway. She had seen him. From her window.
And instead of hiding… She was walking straight toward him. Julian felt something shift, sharp and immediate. "Amara.." he started, his voice low, a warning, a question, something in between.
But she didn't stop. Didn't even look at him. She walked past him like he wasn't there. Like nothing else in this house mattered.
