?Chapter 1638:

The wind howled past as Corrine sped down the road, slicing through the dusk like a de.fncbdd Newest update provided by ?ovelFind/fncbdd

Taylor leaned back, arms stretched wide, eyes closed. “Now this is living,” he breathed, wind rushing against his grin.

For once, he let the weight of duty fall away.

They climbed to the mountain’s peak, the car finally stopping where sky met earth. Perched on the hood, they watched the sun retreat behind distant hills, orange light melting into night.

“How’ve you been all these years?” Taylor asked, not taking his eyes off her.

When she’d left, there had been no goodbyes—just the quiet echo of an empty room. Perhaps the truest departures were silent ones; no words, no exnations, just absence.

They’d woken one morning to find her gone. A single note was all she’d left behind. Lone Ranger had thrown himself into research for years, iming he was refining systems, but everyone knew better—he was searching for her. Always.

But now, here she was. Real. Right next to him. And in that moment, Taylor felt like he’d been dropped back into those wild forest days, where they fought back-to-back, side by side.

Without her, Red me felt dull. Gray. Like a me burned out. Corrine wasn’t sure what the years had given her. She wasn’t even sure what they’d taken.

After leaving that forest, her world returned to routine. Predictable. Like waking from a vivid dream into a colorless morning.

Then she met Nate. And suddenly, everything made sense again. He was her light when everything else was shadow.

The memory of his face softened her expression, a smile flickering in her eyes before she could stop it. “I’ve been doing quite well.”

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Taylor caught the shift in her and stiffened. “That smile… you’re thinking of someone.”

“I am,” she said.

His face darkened, eyes narrowing in disbelief.

The silence stretched until it snapped. “You have a boyfriend?”

She actually had a boyfriend?

Since when?

Had that smug bastard, Vulture, won her over the moment he turned his back?

Just then, Corrine’s phone rang.

It was Nate.

She picked up smoothly while Nate’s voice came through rich and confident from the other end. “Dinner tonight?”

“Sure,” she replied. Her eyes shifted to Taylor. “Mind if I bring a friend?”

“I’d be honored to meet anyone you call a friend.”

“Okay.”

She ended the call and then slid off the hood of the car with the same quiet grace. Heading toward the passenger side, she tossed a casual nce. “Come on. I’ll introduce you.”

Taylor’s brain was still catching up. “Introduce me to who?”

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