Eleanor's Demise ✔️

The biting New Jersey wind whipped around Eleanor, tugging at the oversized sweatshirt that served as her disguise. She stood on the very street corner where she had supposedly met her demise, the spot where a semi-truck had, according to the news, ended the life of Eleanor Carnegie a year ago.

The snow, light at first, began to fall faster, dusting the familiar ground. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic drumbeat of fear and exhilaration. Adam was near. He always came here.

Suddenly, a voice, startlingly familiar, cut through the night. "You're gonna catch a cold out here."

Eleanor spun around, her breath catching in her throat. There he was. Adam Carnegie. The man she loved, the man she had run from, standing mere feet away. He looked older, tired, with dark shadows under his eyes that spoke of profound grief. Her carefully constructed facade threatened to crumble.