CHAPTER 25 : The Absence of Him

Days turn into weeks. Weeks into months. Eve searches for him, refusing to believe he's gone for good. She scours the underground, follows every lead, but Alexander is a ghost now—one that haunts her in every shadow, in every city street where she swears she sees a glimpse of him before he vanishes.

She keeps returning to the same café they used to meet at, sitting by the window, waiting. Hoping. But the seat across from her remains empty.

Eve (to herself, staring at his empty seat): "He left, but his ghost never did."

And then one night, in a city far from home, she feels it. That familiar weight of eyes on her. The kind of presence that makes the air crackle with tension.

She turns too fast, heart hammering, but there's no one there. Just a shifting shadow in the alley, the scent of cigarette smoke lingering in the air.

She whispers his name into the darkness. No answer. But she knows.

Alexander is watching.

Alexander (watching from the shadows, whispering to himself): "I was never good at staying away."