## Hazel's POV
The stairwell offered temporary sanctuary. I leaned against the wall, fingers pressed to my lips as if to hold my runaway thoughts inside. Sebastian's car still waited downstairs—I could feel his presence even through concrete and steel.
My heart wouldn't slow down. The rhythm pounded in my ears, a telltale sign of something I wasn't ready to admit.
I was falling for Sebastian Sinclair.
The realization wasn't sudden. It had been building for weeks, brick by careful brick, in moments when he looked at me like I was the only person in the room. In the gentle brush of his hand against mine. In his unwavering support when my world collapsed.
Now it stood complete—a fortress of feeling I couldn't deny.
I pushed away from the wall and climbed the remaining stairs. My apartment door offered another barrier between me and the truth waiting below.
My phone vibrated. A text from Sebastian: "Are you okay?"