AVA'S POV
The hum of the city greeted me like a half-forgotten song as our car rolled back into the familiar streets.
Skyscrapers loomed overhead like silent witnesses to everything that had changed in the past few weeks. But even as the buildings stayed the same, I didn't. Not anymore.
Ethan reached over and gave my hand a quiet squeeze as we approached the penthouse, our penthouse. For once, it didn't feel like a gilded cage or a borrowed identity. It felt like a space we had reclaimed.
We stepped into the marble-floored lobby, nodding at the doorman whose eyes lingered with recognition. The headlines had traveled faster than I'd ever expected. My name, my real name, had become a symbol. Whether that was empowering or overwhelming… I hadn't quite decided yet.
The elevator ride was quiet, the kind of silence that didn't need to be filled. Ethan kept his hand in mine. The weight of it grounded me more than any title or legacy could.
