The apartment was quiet, the gentle hum of the heater blending with the soft rhythm of rain still pattering against the window. Jay stood by the front door, fully dressed in his signature black jeans and a sleek fitted shirt, his coat hanging loosely over his shoulder. He looked back one last time, his eyes falling on Riele sleeping peacefully on the couch, curled beneath the thick blanket he had wrapped her in the night before.

There was something tender about the way she slept. As if she was ...