I step out of the elevator, and the hallway stretches before me, long and quiet. My footsteps echo against the polished floor, each one a small confession in the silence.
The apartment building is still, wrapped in the deep hush of late night—or early morning, depending on how you look at it.
I glance at my watch. 1 AM.
It's too late. He must be sleeping.
But I couldn't go back to the mansion. I couldn't face those empty hallways, that cold bed, the weight of everything that happened tonight pressing down on me alone.
I just want to see Deniz.
I stop in front of his apartment door and stare at the white wood. Plain. Ordinary. Scuffed slightly at the bottom from years of use.
The most beautiful door in the world—because of what lies behind it.
Maybe he's awake. Maybe I should just knock.
Just once.
I raise my hand, fist hovering inches from the wood. I hesitate.
What if he's deep asleep?
What if I wake him and he's groggy and annoyed? What if—
