Book 2. Chapter 45

45

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|Rican|

Rican stepped off the plane, the crisp air of New York brushing against his skin. His mind was already halfway between business and thoughts of Alessa.

Most of the work had been handled over the phone; all that remained was signing a few documents to seal the deal. As he made his way through the hotel, he pulled out his phone, eyes drawn to the lock screen—a photo of him and Alessa on their first official date, right after he confessed his feelings for her.

She looked radiant; her smile lighting up the picture, and his heart swelled just looking at it.

He smiled to himself, remembering that day. A part of him wanted to call her, just to hear her voice, but he decided against it. She'd probably stayed up late seeing him off for his early flight, and he didn’t want to disturb her.

As soon as he turned on his internet, his phone buzzed furiously, flooding with messages and notifications.

The first few messages were harmless, mostly work-related or from friends, but