Meet me at the last cottage in the mansion.
Signed: co-birthday celebrant.
Athena smiled when she read the message. Her thumb lingered over the screen, tracing the words as if they carried heat. Her ex-husband's handwriting—digital or not—still had a way of stirring something in her chest.
"Dinner at 11 p.m.?" she murmured under her breath, her lips curling into a rueful half-smile. She rubbed the back of her phone against her palm, debating whether to laugh or sigh. "With my ex-husband…"
Was that a good idea?
The thought pressed against her like a whisper of temptation and reason all at once.
The mansion was quiet, everyone likely fast asleep after the long evening. No one would question her absence for an hour or two. Still… having dinner this late, alone with Ewan, felt like playing with embers she had no business touching.
But then again—it was their birthday. Their shared birthday. A strange coincidence life had refused to untangle even after the divorce.
