AVA MONROE'S POV
The morning after our kiss was..., nothing like I expected.
No awkwardness. No long stares across the breakfast table.
No whispered confessions or frantic denials. Just silence.
A new kind. The heavy, loaded type that settles between two people afraid to admit they're changing.
Ethan had already left when I woke. A note rested beside a white rose on my nightstand.
Meeting in D.C. Back tonight. Try not to miss me.
I rolled my eyes and smiled despite myself.
This man didn't know how to be vulnerable, but he was trying in his own infuriating, cryptic way.
I got out of bed, showered, dressed in something casual, and decided to do something I hadn't done since signing the contract.
Leave the house, alone.
The city was a beast of color and noise. Horns blared. People shouted into cell phones. Tourists fumbled with maps and iced coffees.
I blended in perfectly. No cameras. No formal gowns. Just Ava Monroe, invisible for the first time in weeks.
