Chapter 56: "A Night to Remember"

The day had been long, revealing, and tiring in its emotional sense, to the extent that Taylor had never been as drained as she was at this moment. They had spent hours discussing in a bid to try to understand all that they had discovered. Her origins, her family—none of it could be true; it was more than information she could process in one sitting. Still, Alex had been there all along, standing beside her in the tempest as if to say, ‘I am here. ’ And so it was that, as the sun began to set and the night drew in, Taylor was outside on the balcony of the apartment they shared. The skyline of the city was lit below her, and yet her soul was in a state of uproar. She hugged herself to seek at least some degree of solace in the storm. Alex followed her to the balcony, and he stood behind her without saying anything. He moved his palms on her collar bones, and she tilted her head back against him, exhaling, her voice trembling. “Are you okay?” he whispered, as if he were afraid that