At that very moment, Charles was standing just a short distance away—
his back turned to the old pavilion where Janet was seated.
He hadn't seen her yet.
But his heart—
it suddenly clenched.
That wild, erratic heartbeat.
As if some invisible thread had snapped taut between them—
pulling him.
Like fate had just tapped him on the shoulder.
Charles spun around.
And there she was.
The silhouette that haunted his dreams.
The figure he'd longed for, mourned, cursed, and cherished—
was right there, just a breath away.
In that instant, time shattered.
The one month of separation didn't feel like thirty days.
It felt like oceans.
Like lifetimes.
She was so close.
But he hurt so much.
His heart pounded against his ribs,
slamming into his throat.
The kind of ache that lifted him to the clouds—
only to let him fall.
"Boss? Boss?"
The engineer beside him was still talking.
"Do you think a theme park here would be—"
But Charles didn't hear a word.
All he could see…
