Chapter 33 How The Hearts Yearns

• Three years had passed since Ava disappeared, but for Alexander Pascal, every day without her felt like an eternity. Now, as he stood before her door, the world around him blurred into insignificance. His hand lingered on the edge of the doorframe where she had left him standing moments ago, waiting for her answer. And then, like the faintest crack of light in a dark tunnel, she stepped aside.
• “Come in,” she said, her voice even, neither inviting nor dismissive.
• Alexander hesitated before crossing the threshold. It was the first time he’d seen her in years. Ava’s hair was shorter, her posture straighter, her eyes harder—but they were still the same eyes that had once looked at him with an unguarded love he’d taken for granted. Inside, the air was warm and faintly scented with lavender. It was nothing like the cold, sterile penthouse they had once shared.