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They argued more than they ever had during those weeks. Tension crawled into the quiet moments between them — editing sessions turned cold, dinners went uneaten. Anna didn’t like how distant he was becoming, how single-minded. It was like he had one foot in reality, and the other trapped in Evermoon’s shadows.

Eventually, Anna just grew tired. Tired of the arguments, of feeling like she was shouting through fog. One night, after a particularly silent dinner, she looked at him and said, “No more trips to Evermoon. You’ve got enough. If you want to keep writing this, fine. But stay here. With me. Let’s finish it together.”

Julian didn’t argue. He just nodded. Maybe he finally realized how much he'd nearly lost.

So they stayed. And together, they poured themselves into the story that had nearly torn them apart—The Silent Shadow.

It took one year. One long, consuming year of outlining, rewriting, clashing, compromising. Of Julian digging through Evermoon’s past while Anna molded it into narrative. Of turning real pain into fiction.

And just as they were about to finish the book, with only the last chapter left to write, Anna found herself lingering on one thought. A thought she’d pushed aside for months, but now it wouldn’t leave her alone.

She glanced up at Julian, who was hunched over his desk, absorbed in the final edits. He didn’t seem to notice her watching him. Slowly, she spoke, her voice softer than she intended. “Julian... you never actually told me who really did it?”

He paused, fingers frozen above the keyboard. She could tell he wasn’t expecting the question, and for a moment, the weight of their past arguments seemed to hang in the air.

“The murderer,” she pressed, her voice almost a whisper. “You’ve never told me who you think it was. Not really.”

Julian didn’t immediately answer. Instead, he slowly closed his laptop, his eyes meeting hers with an unreadable look. For a long moment, he didn’t speak, his face betraying nothing of the secrets he still held tight.

Anna waited, her curiosity gnawing at her, growing with each passing second. But Julian just sat there, quiet and distant. “Why do you care about it now?” he asked, his voice low. “You’ve never been this interested before.”