And waiting turned out to be its own kind of torture.
By the time evening settled over the street outside her house, the tension inside her chest had built to a tight, restless pressure that refused to ease.
Then finally—
The doorbell rang… again.
Her entire body reacted instantly.
She didn’t need to check.
This time she knew.
Her heart pounded violently as she walked toward the door. For a moment she simply stood there with her hand on the handle, gathering what little composure she had left.
Then she opened it.
Martin stood there.
The moment their eyes met, the air shifted.
He looked exactly like she remembered from earlier — tall, solid, composed on the outside… but the tension in his shoulders betrayed the storm underneath.
Neither of them spoke for a moment.
“You said we
