Chapter 15

Gabriel found himself revisiting the scene in his mind as he roamed his apartment, unable to shake the vivid memory of what had happened earlier. After a long day at work with countless meetings running into one another, Gabriel had been about ready to go to bed when he'd heard the loud bang from outside.

Worried and cautious, he'd quickly stepped out of his apartment—only to be met with a sight that had caught him by surprise. There, seated before her door, was Joslyn, surrounded by her scattered belongings, resembling fallen leaves in disarray.

However, it hadn't quite been the disorderliness of her belongings that had captured Gabriel's attention initially. It’d been the tears streaming down her face, her shoulders shaking with each sob. The contrast between her usual composed demeanor and her current state of vulnerability had been so stark and had struck him deeply.

The image of Joslyn in such a state of distress had stirred within Gabriel an overwhelming yet inexplicable sense