———

Sariyah had convinced herself she was fine.

That she was moving on.

That he was gone.

But deep down, a part of her had been waiting—bracing for something to happen.

And when it finally did, it was so subtle, so precise, that it made her blood run cold.

It started with her keys.

She always threw them on the counter when she got home, always in the same spot.

But tonight, when she walked through the door and reached for them—

They weren't there.

Her heart skipped.

She turned the apartment upside down, checking the floor, the couch, the kitchen table.

Nothing.

Panic started to rise in her throat.

Had she dropped them outside? Left them at work?

But then—

Her gaze landed on the coffee table.

And there they were.

Neatly placed.

Perfectly centered.

Like someone had deliberately set them there.

Her breath hitched.

She hadn't put them there.

She knew that.

She knew.

A chill crept down her spine as she stood frozen, staring at the small, ordinary object that now felt like a threat.

Had she been careless? Had she been so lost in her routine that she had put them there and just forgotten?

She wanted to believe that.

She needed to believe that.

But she couldn't.

Because deep in her gut, she knew the truth.

He had been here.

D'kazi.

Her chest tightened, her stomach twisting with something sharp and sickening.

Not terror.

Not just fear.

Something else.

Something worse.

Because if he had wanted to hurt her, he could have.

If he had wanted to take her, he would have.

Instead, he had left her a message.

Silent. Undeniable.

A reminder.

That he was still watching.

That she still belonged to him.

Her throat dried as she backed away from the keys like they were a loaded gun.

She should call someone. Should call the police.

Should do something.

But she didn't.

She couldn't.

Because if she did, if she spoke his name aloud—

It would mean admitting that she had never really been free of him.

That she had only been pretending.

And worst of all—

That some part of her had been waiting for this all along.

---

I lowkey hate this book now even though I already finished it in my drafts. It's to slow paced.