Cole pulled his hand back, as if the phone itself had burned him.
Why now?
Why did he suddenly feel this emptiness gnawing at him, this aching void where Eve's presence used to be?
He had always been indifferent, cold even, to the point where people thought he didn't feel anything at all.
But Eve . . . Eve had been different. She had lingered in the background of his life, always there, like the steady rhythm of his own heartbeat.
And now, without her, everything felt disjointed, like a song missing its melody.
But was that enough to act on?
Cole leaned back, staring up at the ceiling, the weight of his thoughts pressing down on him. He wasn't sure. If he wasn't sure, then maybe leaving her be was the right choice.
Maybe this was how it was supposed to end—her drifting away, him staying locked in the safety of his solitude.
But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, a pang of regret sliced through him. Leaving her be? Could he really do that? Could he just let her slip away without even trying to understand what this strange ache inside him meant?
His fingers clenched around the phone, his chest tight. He had never been the kind of person who allowed his emotions to control him.
But this—this feeling was different. It gnawed at him, clawing its way into his consciousness, refusing to let go.
A memory flashed through his mind—Eve, standing beside him as a child, her hand slipping into his, her smile warm and bright, even as he stood cold and distant.
She had always been there, hadn't she? Even when he didn't ask for her presence, even when he didn't deserve it.
And now she wasn't.
It was like something gnawing at the back of his mind, a relentless, nagging feeling he couldn't shake. If he didn't stop her this time, if he didn't reach out, he would regret it.
Deep down, Cole knew it with an unsettling certainty. The sensation wasn't new—it was like déjà vu, as if he had felt this exact moment slipping through his fingers before. Like Eve had already vanished from his life once.
But how? How could that be?
Cole couldn't place his finger on it, couldn't fully grasp why the thought of Eve disappearing now felt so hauntingly familiar.
It was irrational, maddening.
She was right there, still within his reach, yet the fear of losing her was paralyzing, almost as if this wasn't the first time.
He couldn't lose her. Not again.
The thought startled him.
Again
?
His mind stumbled over the word. Had he already lost her once before? Was that why the fear felt so visceral, so real? As if he was reliving something buried deep in his subconscious, some pain he had locked away without ever acknowledging?
A flicker of a memory—faint and blurred—surfaced for a brief moment. Cole could see Eve's face, tears streaming down her cheeks, but it wasn't the Eve he knew now. It was her, but . . . older, different. The memory faded as quickly as it appeared, leaving him breathless and confused.
Cole's hands gripped the edge of the table in front of him, his knuckles white. He felt like he was on the brink of something important, something crucial that he couldn't quite reach.
He couldn't explain it. He didn't understand why it felt like Eve had already left him in some other life, some other time.
But he knew one thing for certain—if he didn't act now, if he didn't fight for her this time, the regret would follow him for the rest of his life.
Taking a deep, shaky breath, Cole stood up, grabbing his phone again. This time, there was no hesitation. His fingers moved on their own, dialing her number for the first time ever.
'This number is out of service.'
Cole was stunned . . . did she . . . changed numbers?
He was ready to hack her information when his phone buzzed. The screen flashed
Lina
.
"Cole, where are you?" Lina's voice was sharp, edged with urgency.
"Home." His voice came out steady, but his pulse quickened.
"Get to Angel's Hospital. Now."
Cole's heart pounded, a cold dread seizing his chest. "What happened?"
There was a long pause, each second stretching unbearably before Lina spoke again.
"It's Eve . . ."