Chapter 49

• **ALEXIS GALLAGHER**
• I was finally back. After months of traveling for work, I couldn’t wait to pick up where I’d left off with Claire. My trips always pulled us apart a bit, but I knew that deep down, what we had was strong enough to survive any distance. At least, that’s what I hoped. In recent days, something about her seemed different. In the messages, in the calls, there was a hesitation I didn’t understand. I thought it might be the pressure from work, or the time we’d spent apart, but now that I was back, I planned to clear everything up.
• We met for a walk in the park, one of our routines. The day was beautiful, the sunlight filtering through the trees, and I couldn’t help but smile when I saw her. Claire, with her elegant posture and graceful movements, always seemed to belong to some other world, a more sophisticated one, and I was happy to be a part of it, even if only for a while.