Chapter 232 The Weight of Two Blows

Ethan’s POV I reached the office before sunrise. The halls were half-lit, quiet in a way that didn’t feel peaceful. Signs about masks and distance were taped everywhere. I wasn’t there for the rundown. I was there for Katelyn. The outbreak had taken her days and her nights. She slept in pieces, ate when someone reminded her, and walked from meeting to edit bay to studio without looking up. She hadn’t said “birthday” once this week. She wouldn’t. So I decided to say it for her. I opened the blinds just enough to pull a few lines of winter light across her office. I taped two paper streamers over the bookshelf and shaped a couple of glow sticks into a crooked heart on the window. On her keyboard, I left a folded note that said: you matter to me. It was simple. It was all I could get without leaving the building for long. Her door opened with a soft click. She stepped in, hair pulled back the way she did on long days, bag slipping from her shoulder. She stopped when she saw the streamers,