Alex drove away from Lila's apartment, the engine's soft hum blending with the night air.
The streets buzzed with late-evening life... tail lights stretching ahead, occasional honks, and neon signs flickering along the sidewalks.
The city never truly slept, and tonight it seemed determined to remind him of that.
He kept his hands steady on the wheel, though his mind was far from calm.
Every detail of the evening played in his head... the calculated closeness, the glances, the touches, the audacious way she had tried to bend him without realizing how transparent she was.
In the rearview mirror, he caught sight of her still standing at the doorway... a teasing curl at her lips... but it was tempered with something else: surprise, recognition, and the faintest trace of respect.
She hadn't gotten what she wanted, yet the spark of challenge remained.
