RAVENNA

Part 32

At Kim's house, Liliya—three months pregnant—was dressed in a soft blue, knee-length woollen dress. A few relatives, along with Gabriel, Esme, Rob, Debolina, and Bowen, busied themselves with the final touches of decoration. Others fussed over Liliya, propping up pillows behind her back. Tae-Ho, father of Gabriel and Michael, paced nearby with his phone glued to his ear.

Just then, Nikolai and Sebastian stepped inside, each carrying a basket of fruits and groceries.

"Oh, you guys are here," Yuxi said with a smile. "Only Nieve and Marcus are left."

"They'll be here," Debolina assured her. "Marcus is picking Nivi up from Maria's."

"Good! Then as soon as they arrive, we can begin," Yuxi cheered, clapping her hands together.

By the window, Esme kept trying to call Nieve, frowning at her phone.

"Oye, what are you doing?" Sebastian asked, already swiping a piece of dessert from the table.

"Don't eat those yet!" Esme snapped. "And I'm calling Nieve."

Sebastian popped the dessert into his mouth, chewing happily. "Hmm... she's late again? That girl runs on her own time zone—slower than honey in winter," he teased with a crooked grin.

"I don't know. Her phone's busy," Esme muttered, redialling.

"Leave it, Esme," Rob said lazily. "She's probably talking to Marcus."

Esme sighed and nodded, still restless.

At last, the call connected.

"Oh, Nieve!" Esme spoke cheerily.

"For God's sake, Esme," Nieve groaned, her voice heavy with exhaustion. "You've rung me so many times my phone's hotter than a teapot left on the stove." Esme giggled.

"We're waiting for you. You should've cancelled class today," Esme chided. There was a pause—too long to be casual.

"And it looks like it's going to rain. Did Marcus pick you up yet?" Esme asked.

Silence.

"Nieve? Nieve!?" she raised her voice, panic edging in.

"Y-yes," came Nieve's reply, faint and shaky. "Yes." A small cough, then her tone sharpened, clipped. "We'll be there. Now... bye."

The line went dead.

Nieve POV.

I was almost at Darcy's when Marcus called. I picked up and told him where I was; he said he'd be there in five minutes. The line was barely warm when my phone started buzzing with another incoming call—beep, beep, beep. I groaned every time. I ended the call with Marcus, glanced at the screen, and saw eight missed calls from Esme. This girl is a walking migraine.

By the time I reached Darcy's Flower Shop she called again. Finally, I answered.
"Oh, Nieve!" she shouted so loud I wondered if my eardrums had to file a complaint. "For God's sake, Esme," I groaned, rubbing my temples. "You've rung me so many times my phone's hotter than a teapot left on the stove." She giggled like that proved nothing. "We're waiting—should've cancelled class today."

I tried to answer, but the sky stole my attention. A prickling at the back of my neck made me look around. At first I thought it was Marcus—he tends to appear from nowhere—but then I saw her: the girl in the red dress from the hailing point. She hadn't taken her eyes off me for a single second. I wasn't listening to Esme anymore; the words blurred into the wind. The stare felt wrong—cold and patient, like someone pressing a thumb into the soft part of your spine.

"Nieve!" Esme's voice punched through my trance. I blinked and answered, voice thin. "Y-yes. We'll be there—now. Bye." I cut the call, thumb hovering to redial Marcus, and looked up. The girl was gone. Gone in two heartbeats. Ghost? Stalker? Neither felt exactly right—I couldn't sense spirit energy, but she also didn't feel like any person I'd met. Familiar and wrong at once. Marcus said he was just around the corner. My gut tightened into a fist and, louder than any argument in my head, my instinct said: get out.