Meanwhile, across the city, Nathan was living under a bridge among the homeless. His once-neat brown coat was stained with dirt, his trousers tattered and damp from the streets. The city’s filth clung to his skin, the cold seeping into his bones. Around him, the homeless muttered in their sleep, their figures barely visible in the dim streetlight glow. Above, the stars burned bright and indifferent, a sharp contrast to the emptiness gnawing at his chest.

He missed Lilly. The thought lodged ...