glancing at him one last time. "Well, it looks like this is where we part ways," she said, feeling a sudden reluctance.
Henry nodded, but his smile didn’t fade. "Maybe not. Would you like to grab a coffee sometime?" His tone was casual, as if asking her to join him for a walk in the park, not a life-changing decision.
Eleanor’s breath caught in her throat. It had been so long since someone had made her feel this way—this spark of excitement, this fluttering in her chest. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she didn’t want to ignore it.
"Sure," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I’d like that."
They exchanged numbers, and just like that, Eleanor’s world shifted ever so slightly. She didn’t know it then, but that simple interaction would lead to something neither of them could have anticipated.
Chapter Two: The Unspoken Connection
Over the next few weeks, Eleanor found herself thinking about Henry far more often than she’d like to admit. Their