It was about four in the morning. Thira had woken up roughly three hours earlier to work on the last phase of her ongoing research. Concentration was proving difficult. Her mind kept drifting back to her encounters with Darian in the past days. But she had promised herself not to give him space in her heart ever again.

She had slept late the night before on the same office project, dozing on and off, battling the urge to think and the urge to sleep all at once. Even when she finally ...