The second anniversary was supposed to be a quiet celebration, something small but meaningful. Instead, it began with a text that felt ordinary at first glance—an apology wrapped in routine: he was stuck at work, he’d make it up later. There was nothing in those words that hinted at what was about to unfold. They carried the familiar tone of a busy life, the kind of message that asks for patience without raising suspicion. And yet, within minutes, that ordinary moment dissolved into something irreversible. Sitting just a few tables away from him in a crowded Chicago restaurant, everything shifted...
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