Anna's POV
On the ride home, Marcus's warnings echoed in my head. That man-why was he fussing so much when he wouldn't even be around? Who did he think he was to me? Yet in that moment, I could have sworn he wanted to kiss me. That familiar yet foreign feeling had my heart racing in a way I wasn't prepared for.
I woke the next morning to Catherine's text—Marcus had left. Sitting up in bed, I found myself glancing out the window, an inexplicable emptiness settling in my chest. From the Phoenix project onward, he'd been my unexpected ally. Without him, I wouldn't have secured Skylake District, and this project wouldn't be launching so quickly.
It hit me suddenly that I'd grown dependent on him. Now that he was gone, I felt unsettled, almost lost.
This isn't good. Get it together. I ran fingers through my hair, irritated at my own weakness. _I'm Anna Shaw. I don't need Marcus Murphy to thrive in Skyview City._
