The park was drenched in evening light, the sun sinking low and setting the paths on fire with copper and gold. Leon walked beside her, hands shoved into his pockets, matching her pace the way he always had. Birds were settling in the trees, the air cooling fast.

“So,” he said, breaking the quiet, “about that party.”

She stiffened almost imperceptibly. “What about it?”

“You know what,” Leon replied. “The kiss. You keep dodging it.”

She shrugged, eyes fixed ahead. “It was a stupid game. People were drunk. It doesn’t matter.”

“It matters to me,” he shot back, sharper than intended. “You know who it was.”

Her jaw tightened. She didn’t look at him. The path curved, shadows stretching long between the trees. Leon stopped walking; she didn’t.

“Why won’t you just tell me?” he asked. “I’m not an idiot. You’ve been weird ever since.”

That made her turn—halfway. Her expression was closed off, lips pressed together, dark lashes hiding her eyes. Up close, the fading light caught the ink on her skin: black and gray tattoos winding over her arm, sharp lines softened by time. Her hair was a mess of dark waves, falling into her face, framing sharp cheekbones and a mouth that always looked like it was holding something back. She wore black from head to toe—loose jacket slipping off one shoulder, heavy boots scuffed and worn, like she’d been ready to leave at any moment.

“I said drop it, Leon,” she snapped.

Something in her voice—too strained, too careful—set his thoughts racing. Pieces slid into place all at once. The certainty hit him so hard it almost stole his breath.

He laughed once, hollow. “It was you,” he said quietly. “The kiss. It was you, wasn’t it?”

She stopped.

Just for a second.

Her shoulders went rigid. Her fingers curled into fists. She didn’t turn around, didn’t deny it, didn’t say a word. But that pause—barely a heartbeat long—was everything.

Leon swallowed. “Mara…”

She moved.

Too fast. She started walking, then almost running, boots striking the path as she hurried away without looking back. Leon took a step after her, then stopped, watching her disappear into the deepening dusk.

The park felt suddenly too big. Too quiet.