At dawn, the city's first water truck rumbled past the apartment building, its speakers playing a song Francesca liked—Parting Makes Us Strangers.

A sliver of pale morning light slipped into the bedroom. The curtains stirred faintly in the quiet breeze.

Julian was no longer beside her.

Last night, he hadn’t forced anything on her. But he had woken intermittently, kissing her again and again...

It was as if he’d been holding something ...