After finishing her light breakfast, Andrea takes her coffee mug with her into her bedroom. She picks up her phone, finds the group chat with her friends back in London, and initiates a video call. A few rings later, the familiar faces of her close friends, Emily and Zara, fill the screen, each of them smiling as they greet her with a chorus of cheerful "Hey!" and "Finally!"
"Hey, girls!" Andrea grins, adjusting herself comfortably on her bed. The video call immediately brings a wave of familiarity, a sense of being home that she misses more than she lets on. For a few moments, they catch up on their own lives—Emily's latest trip to Scotland and Zara's new job at a magazine. Then, inevitably, the topic drifts toward Andrea's time back in her hometown and, more specifically, to her recent encounter with Christian.
"Andrea, tell us everything," Zara urges, her eyes wide with interest. "How was it, seeing Christian again?"
