Nick didn't leave immediately.
He stood there in Samantha's office long after the words "My name is Samantha Bradley" carved into his bones like a verdict.
The silence in the room was suffocating.
Jake stood between them, tense, protective, watching every breath Samantha took.
Samantha… Ally… the woman he loved, the woman he destroyed, the woman he thought dead—
Nick could barely breathe.
Samantha turned her back to him, staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows, her silhouette framed against the city she rebuilt her life in. Her arms were crossed tightly, as though holding herself together was the only thing stopping her from breaking apart.
"Get him out," she said quietly.
Not cold this time.
Just tired.
Tired in a way that made Nick's heart collapse.
Jake stepped closer, voice firm.
"You heard her."
Nick's lips parted, but no sound came.
He looked at Samantha—no, at Ally—one last time.
She didn't move.
Didn't look back.
Didn't blink.
Just silence.
Just distance.
