Cassie honestly thought she would feel lighter after Franklin and Tristan left, expecting relief, space and a quiet, but instead, what she got was absence that echoed through every room.
Their departure didn't bring peace, it brought this strange hollow ache that sat in her chest and followed her everywhere. She missed Franklin's steady presence, and Tristan's easy laughter.
Even the way they both crowded her space in different ways suddenly felt precious now that it was gone. So she did the only thing she knew how to do when emotions started getting too loud.
Burying herself in work. She drowned herself in schedules, meetings, spreadsheets, samples, packaging designs, branding calls, and endless logistics and even stock trading.
Her perfume and jewelry lines were moving clos
