CHAPTER 219
KATYA POV
"Michael?!" The name slipped out before I could stop it.
He was already moving toward me, his expression shifting from surprise to something else—relief, maybe. Concern. Too much of it.
My body didn't like that.
I froze. Not the normal kind. Not the oh-that's-unexpected kind. The kind where your feet feel glued to the floor and your lungs forget their job.
The mall blurred at the edges.
For a split second, I wasn't standing under bright lights with polished floors and soft music humming in the background.
I was somewhere narrow. Enclosed. My name echoing again, louder, desperate. A voice calling me while everything inside me screamed that it was already too late.
My grip on the wheelchair tightened until my knuckles burned. Michael took another step closer.
My heart slammed hard against my ribs.
No. He couldn't be here.
I hadn't seen him in so long that my mind had folded him away—neatly, carefully—into a part of my past I didn't touch anymore.
