Chapter 6
The Weight of Irrelevance
Ashley meets Leo for their coffee date, but the atmosphere is tense from the start. Michelle arrives unexpectedly, revealing she's uncovered troubling details about Leo's past that put his proposal in a dangerous new light. As Leo's desperation escalates, Ashley is forced to confront her own complicity in seeking to fix others.
The café was wrong when Ashley walked in. That was the first thing she noticed. The light was different—harsher, more yellow, as if someone had replaced the bulbs with something cheaper. The usual hum of conversation had been replaced by a low, almost wary murmur. And Leo was already there, which he never was. He was always late, always rushing in with apologies and excuses. But now he sat at a corner table, perfectly still, a single cup of coffee growing cold in front of him.
He didn't look like himself. His shirt was rumpled, his hair less precise, the usual armor of pressed fabric and gel replaced by something softer and more fragile. When he saw her, he stood up too quickly, knocking his knee against the table and wincing.
"Ashley. Hey. You came."
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