The door closed softly behind the woman.
Julian heard her footsteps fade into the hallway outside. The sound was light, uneven for a moment, then steadier as it moved farther away.
Lucian didn't watch the door long.
He simply turned back into the room, as if the interruption had already ended.
That, more than anything else, unsettled Julian.
There was no tension in Lucian's posture. No careful listening for whether she collapsed in the corridor. No second glance to make sure she made it to the elevator.
The moment had already passed for him.
Julian realized he was the only one still standing inside it.
The quiet that followed felt different from the silence before. The room had lost the third presence that had filled the space only moments ago, and the air seemed to settle into something calmer.
Lucian crossed the room without urgency and returned the empty glass to the bar.
Julian watched him.
