I didn't see Elena again for two days.

The office moved on like nothing had happened - meetings, deals, late emails filled with polite urgency. But something in me had finally gone still.

For the first time in months, I wasn't chasing her shadow. I wasn't trying to understand her silences or decode her smiles. I was just... done.

And that realization was its own kind of peace.

We had a joint project due in a week - a multi-million contract that demanded both our signatures and our time. The ...