When I woke, something cool pressed against my skin.
In the dim light, I saw William's fingers, tracing the swollen curve of my cheek with a gentleness I barely recognized.
I couldn't tell if I was still half-asleep or if it was real.
His eyes were full of anguish. Full of tenderness.
It had been so long since he'd looked at me that way. So impossibly long.
Time seemed to fold backward, carrying me to that tiny rented apartment from years ago, and I murmured his name without thinking. "William..."
The moment the word left my lips, everything changed.
He stood. Backlit and distant, his expression wiped clean of whatever I thought I'd seen. "You're alive. Get up and make dinner."
Of course. It had only been a hallucination.
Since I couldn't afford to hire help, the house had no cook or housekeeper.
I made a meal as fast as I could.
At the dinner table, William held up his phone, the payment QR code aimed at me. "After subtracting your labor, you owe me nine hundred."
I shook my head. "I'm not eating. It's all yours."
His expression stiffened. "Stop throwing a tantrum. This meal's on me. Eat."
I shook my head again and explained wearily, "My tooth hurts too much to chew."