Aislinn noticed the bruise first.
She stood at the bathroom sink, warm water sliding over her palms, when her left hand turned just enough for the light to catch it… a faint, dusky circle forming around the base of her ring finger.
Not a smudge.
Not a random blotch.
A band.
Her breath caught.
The rest of the room went soft around the edges, steam on the mirror, pale morning light washing through the frosted window, the low hum of the fan. All of it faded around that mark, sharp and wrong and… inevitable.
Slowly, almost afraid, Aislinn lifted her right thumb and brushed it over the bruise.
There was no pain.
But there was something else.
Warmth seeped beneath her skin, spreading in a slow, thick wave. Not heat from the water. Not the flush of embarrassment or shock. This was deeper, heavier, like warm hands pressing gently into her from the inside out.
And then she felt them.
Arms.
Shadowed, invisible, but *there*... sliding around her waist from behind, pulling her back against the outline of a body that wasn't really there. A solid chest at her spine. A steady, quiet strength wrapping around her middle as if it had always known how to hold her.
Her fingers curled against the porcelain sink.
Not Matt.
Matt had been close to her height, his arms strong but gentle, his touch soft, tender. When he hugged her, it felt like being gathered in by someone who never wanted to scare her, who always worried about holding too tight.
This wasn't like that.
These phantom arms were broader, the embrace firmer. There was no hesitation in the way they drew her back… just a calm certainty, like he knew exactly where she fit and wasn't afraid to keep her there. The weight of him felt protective, anchoring, a quiet command to lean in and let go.
Her breath hitched.
The warmth tightened once, almost like a silent promise whispered against her skin.
Then it vanished.
The sensation snapped away so fast she almost staggered. The bathroom felt colder, emptier, like someone had walked out and closed the door quietly behind them.
The bruise remained.
Quiet. Darkening. Waiting.
"Aslinnnnn!"
Hadley's voice tore down the hallway like a banshee armed with caffeine. "If you're not done in there, I'm kicking the door in. I'm not afraid."
Aislinn shut off the tap, heart still thudding. "You are absolutely afraid," she called back. "You just like being dramatic."
"I contain multitudes," Hadley answered. "Hurry up!"
Aislinn dried her hands, but her gaze fell back to the faint ring around her finger. In the brighter light, it seemed even more defined. A perfect circle.
Like the ghost of a wedding band.
Her stomach tightened.
"Just a bruise," she whispered to herself. "Maybe I smacked it on something. Maybe I slept weird."
Maybe phantom arms weren't real.
She didn't sound convinced, even in her own head.
She pulled on jeans and a soft gray sweater, tugged fingers through her dark red hair, and slung her bag over her shoulder. Her hand brushed the mark again by accident. The echo of warmth skipped through her like a heartbeat.
Not Matt, she thought, unsettled.
Someone else.
Someone who didn't exist.
She shook it off and stepped out of the bedroom.
Hadley stood by the apartment door, phone in one hand, travel mug in the other, looking personally offended by the passage of time. Strawberry-blond hair was twisted into a messy knot, black-rimmed glasses perched on the end of her nose.
"There she is," Hadley declared. "My favorite emotionally repressed redhead. Do you have any idea how long I've been…" She broke off mid-rant, eyes dropping to Aislinn's hand. "What is *that*?"
Aislinn immediately curled her fingers. "What's what?"
Hadley strode over and snagged her wrist like she'd been waiting her whole life. "Don't you dare hide your weirdness from me. I live for this."
"Hadley…"
"Oh my God." Hadley's voice dropped into delighted awe. "Aislinn. That is not a normal bruise."
"It's just…"
"It's in the *ring* spot." Hadley looked up, scandalized and thrilled all at once. "Did the universe propose while I was in the kitchen?"
Aislinn sighed. "It's a bruise."
"That is a spectral engagement ring, and I refuse to let you downplay this." Hadley turned her hand over under the light. "You have a shadow ring. This is premium content. I should be charging admission."
Aislinn tugged, but Hadley held on.
"Hadley, I don't remember hitting it. That's all. It's weird, but it's still just a bruise."
"Mm-hmm." Hadley squinted at it. "Weird mark on your ring finger. You've been having weird dreams. You've been staring into space like you're haunted but in a **'I might be into it'** way. And what did you say last week?"
Aislinn winced. "I don't remember."
"You," Hadley said, poking her arm with every word, "literally said… 'If the universe wants me to believe in signs again, it can send me something obvious. Then I'll go talk to a psychic.'" She grinned. "Congratulations. You have been *obviously* marked."
"I hate you," Aislinn muttered.
"You adore me," Hadley corrected. "Luckily, I anticipated your nonsense and took precautionary measures."
Aislinn narrowed her eyes. "What did you do?"
Hadley's smile turned wicked. "I may or may not have booked you an appointment with Madame Zara *before* the universe did its little Sharpie art on your finger."
"You WHAT?"
"You heard me." Hadley let go of her hand and reached for her coat. "You've been all serious and grief-monster and responsible adult. I got you a fortune teller. AND You're welcome."
"That's not…" Aislinn rubbed her forehead. "That's not how normal people show love."
"You're not dating normal people. You're dating destiny now." Hadley pointed dramatically to the door. "Come on. Before I text everyone you know and tell them you have a ghost fiancé who proposed with a phantom 10 carat diamond."
Aislinn opened her mouth with every intention of arguing, but the words stuck.
She'd been serious. And tired. And… lonely.
Lonely in a way that sat under her ribs, heavy and unspoken.
She looked at the bruise again, like a dark promise tattooed on her finger.
Right now, it was just a dark circle of color in a place where there used to be a very different gold band years ago.
"Fine," she said, rolling her eyes. "But if this woman tells me I'm destined to fall in love with my mailman, I'm blaming you."
"Joke's on you," Hadley said, already dragging her toward the door. "You don't *have* a mailman. It's obviously going to be someone hotter and hopefully not a vampire. You need more sunlight!."
"Hadley…"
"If the fortune teller says the words 'tall, dark, and emotionally unavailable,' I'm going to scream," Hadley added. "Then I'm going to make business cards and hand them out."
Aislinn snorted despite herself. "You need better hobbies."
"I have one. It's you."
Hadley shoved her coat at her. "Let's go let a mysterious stranger with incense and questionable zoning regulations tell you your fate."
Aislinn hesitated for one last heartbeat.
The bruise tingled, warm and soft, right where a ring would sit.
She ignored the way it made her chest tighten and followed her best friend out the door.
The drive across town took fifteen minutes. With Hadley, it felt like five.
"You realize," Hadley said, merging with questionable optimism, "if this turns into a 'you have a dark aura' reading, I'm going to be personally offended."
"My aura is fine."
"Your aura is exhausted," Hadley countered. "And allergic to fun. Which is why we're doing this. You used to enjoy this stuff."
"I was nineteen," Aislinn said. "I also used to enjoy gas station nachos and dating boys in bands."
"And we've all grown," Hadley said. "You own a coffee shop. You pay your bills. You have a child. You desperately need someone to tell you that the universe has not completely given up on your love life."
Aislinn stared out the window. Familiar streets slid by in a blur.
"It's not about my love life," she said quietly.
"I know." Hadley's voice softened for a rare second. "It's about you not walking around like a half-ghost."
Aislinn's throat tightened.
Hadley let the silence sit for a beat, then ruined it in the way only she could.
"Also," she added cheerfully, "I absolutely want to be able to say 'I told you so' if a hot man appears in your life later and we find out a fortune teller called it."
"There it is," Aislinn muttered.
"I contain depth and chaos," Hadley said. "I'm a complex woman."