Page 105 of The Yoga Teacher

About Daniel.

Just… thinking.

She had spent months cycling through every possible way she could feel about him.

At first, she had been numb—too shocked, too gutted to process the full scope of his betrayal. She had gone through the motions of surviving, of walking away, of existing in a world that no longer looked like hers.

Then came the rage. The kind that seared through her, that threatened to consume everything in its path. That had made her want to break something just to feel like she had some control. The kind of fury that made her want to scream at him, to claw at his skin, to leave him as wrecked as he had left her.

And then, after the anger had burned itself out, there had been the shame. The unbearable weight of it. The sickening feeling in her stomach when she thought about how much she had given him—her body, her trust, her most vulnerable, raw self. And for what? For him to throw it away? To take all that intimacy, all that love, and share it with someone else?

She had spent months sitting in that shame. Letting it fester. Letting it convince her that she had been stupid to believe in him, in them.

And now?

Now, she was here.

Not numb. Not angry. Not ashamed.

Just… here. Sitting in something quieter. Something unfamiliar.

Because tonight, for the first time in a long time, she had seen Danielwithoutthe filter of her own pain.

She had seen him not as the man who had broken her, but as a man who was trying. A man who had stepped in, solved the problem, and walked away. A man who hadn’t looked for her approval or her gratitude.

And that unsettled her in a way she hadn’t expected.

Because if he wasn’t trying to win her back… if he wasn’t doing this for show… then what was left?

What did it mean if he had changed?

And more than that—what did it mean forher?

For months, hating him had been easy. It had been a lifeline. It had made her feelrightin all the ways he had been wrong.

But tonight?

Tonight, she wasn’t sure shecouldhate him.

And that scared her more than anything.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Daniel

THE VENUE WAS pure ego.

Exposed brick, custom lighting, curated cocktails with stupid names like “Brand Identity” and “The Disruptor.” Tall glass windows looked out over downtown like the city was something to be conquered, not lived in.

Daniel stood near the far wall, sipping a club soda. His shirt collar was crisp. Shoes polished. His body here, his mind… somewhere else entirely.

Everyone looked like they were trying too hard—middle-aged art directors in t-shirts, social media managers comparing follower counts like it was net worth.

This kind of event used to energize him. The flirtation, the buzz, the deals. It used to be fun. Now it just felt like noise.

He was about to step outside for air when he saw her.

Sienna.

---