**Stefano’s POV**

I stood on the curb and simply stared at her.

She was closer now than she had been in sixteen years. Close enough that I could see the faint, delicate lines etched around her eyes, lines carved by a decade and a half of laughter I hadn't heard and worries I hadn't caused. I could hear the soft, rhythmic sound of her breathing.

It was the most haunting sound I had ever heard.

Then, her eyes met mine.

The air vanished from my lungs. For a few minutes, the universe went ...