When they returned to the apartment, Celina thanked Gabriel for dinner, held his gaze for a lingering moment, and slipped into her room. There, behind a locked door, she let the tears fall silently. She didn’t know how to handle the growing warmth she felt for Gabriel while still carrying the tangled feelings she had for Thor. She felt caught in an emotional limbo, torn between what she longed to forget and what she still needed to face.

Celina realized her greatest battle wasn’t with the exhausting routine, but with the heart that refused to let go of what reason kept telling her to leave behind.

A week had passed since she’d begun her new double shift life. In Gabriel’s small kitchen, she moved lightly as she made coffee, her hands quick between the kettle and the toaster. The smell of fresh brew soon filled the room. Gabriel appeared, hair tousled, rubbing his eyes, smiling with his usual tenderness.

“Morning, Chef,” he said, sitting at the table.

Celina smiled, a little nervous. S