By the time I left the hospital, a fine rain was falling again.

I drew my jacket closer on the steps and was about to order a car when a black sedan stopped in front of me.

The window lowered, revealing Xavier Sutton's gentle, handsome face.

“Sophie.”

I blinked. “Uncle Xavier? Why are you back so early?”

“I had some projects to hand over, so I changed to a morning flight.”

He got out and opened a large umbrella over my head. His eyes moved over my pale lips, a flicker of concern crossing his face.

“You look awful. Let's sit down in that coffee shop.”

In the quiet cafe across from the hospital, Xavier pushed a hot mocha toward me and took an official letter from his briefcase.

It was the confirmation of my place at the perfumery academy in Paris.

“They need the final list by the day after tomorrow,” he said gently. “If you haven't made up your mind, or there's someone here you can't leave behind, I can ask them to defer your place for six months.”

I held the warm cup, but its heat couldn't reach the cold inside me.

Looking at the academy's gold-embossed crest, I felt my eyes begin to sting.

Once, I had believed that if I tried hard enough and asked for little enough, I could melt Sebastian's ice.

I had imagined our future so many times.

I would have a little perfume studio. He would come home after surgery, open the door, and breathe in a soothing scent I'd made just for him. We would hold each other and kiss in the warm light.

Now I understood that some people simply had no warmth to give.

“Don't ask for a deferral.”

I looked up, my resolve steadying.

“I want to study in Paris.”

Xavier sighed quietly and brushed a few drops of rain from the ends of my hair.

“All right. I respect your decision.”

...

Across the street, a black Volvo sat motionless in the rain.

Sebastian was in the driver's seat, his fingers resting on the wheel.

He had been heading to a meeting at the hospital's other campus.

But as he pulled out of the hospital gates, he had seen me inside the cafe, opposite a young man reaching over to dry my hair.

Through the windshield, with its steadily sweeping wipers, Sebastian watched without expression.

The man brushed damp strands from my cheek. I didn't move away. I even lowered my head slightly, letting him come closer.

Sebastian knew that gesture.

I only let down my guard that way around someone I trusted.

His grip tightened until his knuckles went an unnatural white.

The air inside the car felt almost suffocating.

That evening, for the first time, Sebastian canceled a departmental seminar and got home before six.

When he opened the door, a faint woody fragrance filled the apartment.

I was at my workbench on the balcony, sealing scent strips into bags.

The sound of him changing his shoes made me turn.

“No surgery today?” I asked, surprised.

He didn't answer.

Throwing his jacket onto the couch, he crossed to the workbench.

His eyes swept the table and landed precisely on the Paris confirmation form beneath my notebook.

The air went still.

He stood over me, something unreadable churning in his eyes.

“You're going abroad?”

I calmly put the form in a drawer. “Yes.”

His hands tightened at his sides.

“Because of the man you met in the cafe this afternoon?”

My hands stopped over the scent strips.

I looked up in disbelief. “Are you accusing me of cheating on you?”

Sebastian's face remained blank. His words sounded like an interrogation.

“I need to know the truth.”

Two years of hurt and disappointment broke open at once.

I stood, my eyes red.

“Even if I had done something wrong, you have no right to question me like this.”

“In two years, you haven't found a single day to spend with me. When I was sick, you told me not to be difficult. At the hospital, you act as though we're strangers. You won't even hug me, as if I might stain your precious white coat!”

“What am I in your world, Sebastian?”

I stopped, staring at him through burning eyes.

A long moment passed before he spoke.

“Are you finished?”

His voice was low and hard.

“I'm sorry. I didn't realize you resented me this much.”

“But when we got together, I told you I was busy. I told you I wasn't the man you imagined. You said you loved me no matter what I was like. Didn't you?”