Two days later. Mid-November. The city hums beneath the weight of coming rain.
Serena had spent the morning trying to keep busy. She arranged papers for Leonard's hearing, read through old correspondences, brewed tea that went untouched.
Every sound seemed too loud, every silence too full.
The storm that had begun inside Christopher's office two days ago hadn't passed — it had only changed form.
Now, instead of fury, there was distance.
No message. No summons. No word from the Ministry.
And yet, the world seemed to hum with his presence.
Each hour that passed without him only deepened the ache — not of love, but of uncertainty. The kind that made her heartbeat stutter whenever a carriage slowed in the street outside Emily's townhouse.
"Serena," Emily called softly from the other room, "Leonard's awake if you'd like to see him."
"Later," Serena said, too quickly.
