XAVIER’S POV

As I made my way out of the plane, I exhaled like I’d been holding my breath the entire way. My palms were sweaty, my body tense, but beneath the nervousness was something stronger—a strange kind of hope I hadn’t allowed myself in months. Melissa was close. Somewhere in this city, breathing the same air as me, living her life without knowing how desperately I’d been searching for her.

I rushed through baggage claim, barely registering my surroundings. The airport ...