He swallowed hard again, suddenly unsure of what to say. He had rehearsed this moment in his mind a hundred times, but now that he was here, words failed him.
Lauren's hand flew to her mouth, her eyes widening as she continued to stare at him, tears pooling in her eyes.
She took a step back, her breath hitching as if she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing.
"Steffan?" she whispered, her voice breaking, raw and filled with a blend of hope and fear. It was as if saying his name would shatter the illusion, and he would disappear again.
"It's me," Steffan said, his voice soft but laden with thick inexplicable emotion. "I'm here, Lauren. I'm alive."
Lauren's knees buckled, and she reached out to steady herself against the doorframe.
The tears that had polled in her eyes, finally spilled down her cheeks as she kept staring at him, taking in every detail as if trying to imprint him in her mind.
