147. The Faces He Never KnewRoman

The knock comes softer than I expect. It's not the decisive, confident knock I’ve imagined a hundred times. Not the hesitant one either. It’s… measured. Polite. As if whoever is on the other side understands boundaries and respects them.

My heart stutters anyway.

I straighten my jacket for the third time in five minutes, then still. Enough. I tell myself to breathe. I cross the living room of the hotel suite slowly, aware of every step, every sound; the ...