With his absence, my routine shifted. I started leaving early morning, arriving at the same time as Markus, so we could finish our work together. We were becoming team players in our team of two. I started opening myself to him, and Markus responded with the same kindness. He showed me the park he frequents to do his daily exercise, and soon I joined him and started jogging after work. I bought a few more groceries on my own, and my trusted little red dictionary as my companion and my gaffes were of minimal consequence to the daily manoeuvring of a foreigner in a strange land.

Another week has gone by and Daniel's presence was a mirage that I neglected during the day, only to haunt my dreams at night.

"Morgan, Marie," I cheered the ruby girl standing in the reception. "Wie geht es Ihnen?" (How are you?)

"You are improving. Well done," she responds.

"Well, I need to impress you or you won't speak to me."

Marie rolls her eyes at me, feigning boredom.

"Mittagessen?" (Lunch?)

"Ja." She flips open a magazine. "But I choose this time around. You have terrible taste."

I laugh out loud heartedly. Our lunch meetings started on the same day Marie helped me buy a laptop. She instructed me to follow her during lunch break and showed me a second-hand electronic shop where I bought my laptop. I offered in return to buy her lunch. She refused but accepted, in the most Marie way possible, the company instead.

The ring of the elevator announced an imminent arrival at our lobby and before I knew it, his voice awoke my sleepless slumber.

"So you two are good friends now?"

My heart raced at his sight, almost as if his absence only strengthened the dull ache in my heart.

"Kolleginnen," Marie responds.

He hummed amusedly and approached the reception area.

"Naturlich." He turns to me and gives me one of his heart-winning smiles. "Hey, you."

My smile falters. I realise I'm still wounded about how he left. For his lack of acknowledgement of how I opened my most precious secret to him. For leaving me in limbo for two weeks now.

"I need to go. Markus is waiting for me. See you later, Marie." I turn on my heels and run inside, leaving them both to figure out the pieces of the puzzle on their own.

The morning was going painfully slowly. I did everything I could to keep myself busy with Markus. Asked question after question, almost as if I was conducting an interrogation on the poor soul, so I could avoid Daniel that circled around my desk until Lukas arrived at the office. His arrival was my salvation and Markus's to my incessant questioning.

When Marie called me to ask if I was ready to get some lunch, I quickly got my things together and ran outside the building, with Marie chasing me.

"Was stimmt nicht mit dir?"

I looked at her, perplexed.

"What is wrong with you?" she repeats.

"Nothing."

She scoffs at my remark and points at the small deli where we were heading for our meal. The day was beautiful, but the air was crisp with signs of an impending winter quickly approaching. Marie ordered for both of us meatballs and she lit a cigarette while we waited for our food.

"Enjoy the outside while you can. Soon it will be so cold and with so much snow that I guarantee you will only want cafeteria food." Marie says while inhaling the white stick lingering from her fingers.

"I never thanked you for not showing me how to use the card for the services," I say sarcastically.

Marie takes another drag and smiles deviously. "Bitte schön." She takes another puff. "What happened to you and Daniel?"

Her question throws me off, and I choke on my water.

She laughs loudly. "Clearly, it's even worse than what I think. You guys fucked?"

"Marie!" I say between coughs. "I have a boyfriend!" And he has a girlfriend...

"Something has happened. He is clearly clueless. He kept asking me if I knew why you were angry with him."

"He knows why."

She takes another puff. "So, something happened?"

I sigh. "Yes, but it's not what you think. He did something, or better, he didn't do something before he left, and that hurt me."

She raises an eyebrow at my vagueness.

"I gave him something to read..."

"And, he didn't?"

"He did."

"Okay...."

"It's stupid. Can we just please forget about it and move on?"

Marie takes the cigarette from her plump lips and circles it in the ashtray until it was compressed into a useless bud. "Naturlich," she replies dryly before the meatballs appear at our table.

After jogging in the park, I take my time to peruse the nearby streets and get to know a bit more of Dusseldorf. I end up spending my evening in a nearby restaurant, eating a beautiful piece of rump steak with a beautiful red to accompany it and late evening I'm on my way back to Meerbusch.

I hum on my way down the street and take my time to take some photos of the beautiful reflection of the town when bathed in the moonlight. I decided to post my pictures on social media. The first pictures I was posting in weeks. A sense of confidence and adventure fills my heart and with every stride, my mind races with endless possibilities of untold tales. Distracted, I take the keys from my purse and open the main door softly so as not to disturb my kind landlords.

"Where have you been?" his raised voice takes me by surprise and shakes my newly discovered inner piece. "I've been worried sick!"

I close the door behind me. "You are being loud, and you'll wake your parents up."

I make my way to my door and take deep breaths to calm down my unsteady hand. From the corner of my eye, I see Daniel's hand bending his blonde locks in frustration.

"I've been worried about you! You could be hurt, or something worst!" His voice was still loud, his gaze wild and his face flushed.

My hand trembles at his sight, and the door rattles but stubbornly negates my entry.

"Answer me, please!"

"I don't have to say anything!" I raise my voice to match his.

His parents' door opens and his mother comes out with rolls in her head and a robe.

"Daniel, was passiert hier?" (Daniel, what is happening here?)

"Es tut mir Leid," I say, embarrassed. (I'm so sorry) "See what you're doing?" My cheeks flush at his audacity.

Daniel takes a deep breath. "Nichts. Geh zurück ins Haus." (Nothing. Get back inside.)

His mother stares at him for a moment before nodding and closing softly the door behind her.

I huff and try to jiggle the door open. His hands cover mine.

"Let me do it, please," he mumbles.

I retract my hands and take two steps back from him. My hands shivered with his touch, my head intoxicated by his perfume. He swiftly opens the door and leaves it open for me to enter. I brush past him abrasively.

"Can I please come inside?" he says again in the softness of tones standing outside the door.

I look at him. It's his apartment, and yet his restraint from coming in is remarkable. My brain flashes memories of a fight with Harry not too long ago, where he burst into my dormitory.

"It's late. I need to get to sleep."

He stares at me with his eyes pleading. I huff and throw my handbag over the small desk.

"Fine. Five minutes and that's it."

Daniel enters the apartment and closes the door behind him, whilst I run to the tap to gulp some water down my throat.

"You have some nerve screaming like that at me..." I start.

"I know... I'm sorry. I was worried sick..."

"I'm not a defenceless child!" I rebut and gulp some more water to calm my nerves.

"What did I do wrong?" he asks in almost a whisper.

I stood with my back to him, astonished at his candour.

"Please tell me. I can't stand how angry you are with me, especially when I don't have a clue about what I did wrong."

"How was Berlin?" I ask, evading the question.

"Nat... please just tell me what I did wrong and what I can do to fix it," he perseveres.

Tears prickle my eyes. It must be the wine that is messing with my emotions.

"Will you at least turn around?"

I shake my head vigorously in response, trying to summon the droplets of water back to their previous residence. His hand turns me around and sees my face flushed with stubborn teardrops adorning my face.

"Why are you crying? What have I done? Please, tell me!" his voice pleads.

I wipe the tears from my face. "It's stupid. Let's just forget it."

"It clearly it's not stupid. You wouldn't be crying over it."

"We are fine. This is just the wine talking. Please, let's forget this."

Daniel stands undeterred. I lower my head and my gaze falls on my little brown book.

"I'm happy you've tried to spare my feelings. Clearly, I'm a hack, so thank you for bringing my delusion of ever being a writer back to reality."

He frowns at my words, taken aback. "I don't understand. What did I do for you to think that I think you are a hack?"

"I gave you the poem to read, and you didn't say a word."

"I said thank you."

I chuckle at his repeated words that sting as much as the first time.

"Should I have not said thank you?" he asks candidly.

"Are you serious right now? I was expecting some sort of feedback, good or bad, but something more than a thank you."

He scratches his head. "I asked to read your words, which you gratefully did, and I was thankful for it. I didn't think you wanted my opinion of your writing."

I stand still for a moment and listen to the echo of his words in my head.

"I'm sorry if I offended you. That was not my intention."

I stare at his atonement.

"I don't want you to be angry with me. I'm really sorry."

He puts his hands in his suit trousers pockets and slowly makes his way to the door.

"I hope you can forgive me. Goodnight."

I stand there, absorbing his frank words. Did I exaggerate?

The next morning, I make my way to work as usual. Secretly hoping to bump into Daniel on my way out so I can apologise profusely for my actions. It was wrong of me to assume something because of the absence of his words. The phone vibrations almost went imperceptibly to my distracted mind.

"Hello?" I finally profess at the fourth ring.

"Hey, babe. How are you?"

"Hey, I'm good. How are you?"

Harry's words pushed him away for a moment, but not even his words could make him disappear.

"Are you sure? You sound weird."

"I'm fine. What's up?"

"I'm on my way to London, and I thought of you and how much I miss you."

I hum on the phone, still distracted by his blonde locks.

"So, I was thinking, maybe I could give you an open ticket for you to come to visit me in Scotland. Next month or something? Whenever you can. I miss you so much."

I hum again without registering his words.

"Is that a yes, babe?"

"A yes?"

"Were you listening to me?"

"I'm sorry. I'm just distracted by work. What were you saying?"

"I want you to come and visit me. I miss you. Let me get you a plane ticket home so we can see each other."

"I can't..."

"I won't take a no. I need to see you. Please. When you can, I'll get an open ticket."

My feet arrive at my destination. "I arrived at work. Can we talk about this later?"

"Yeah, I guess." He responds dryly. "Bye." And he hangs up.

I grunt in frustration. I know when Harry and I are fighting and that signalled the beginning of one.

"Morgan" Markus startles me from behind. "I scared you?"

"Hey, Markus. No, it's okay."

"Are you planning to go inside soon?" he says with a grin.

I nod and we make our way to the office. Markus talks about some ideas for the blog and a couple of marketing strategies while on our way up and keeps my mind distracted for long enough to stop my noisy brain from rehashing past conversations.

There is a coffee cup and a brown bag on my desk. I smile at Marie's gesture and make a mental note to text her to grab lunch together. I take my coat and see that Daniel is at his desk already. He must have left earlier than me. I avoid my gaze to linger towards his office and sit at my desk, turn on the computer and open the brown bag and inhale the sweet smell of the Blaubeermuffin. However, the sweet muffin was not the only item inside. I take a little piece of paper that has been neatly folded four times.

'Kleiner, I'm ashamed that I have made such a crude gesture towards you and your writing.

Your poem was vibrant and sad, it gave me an insight into the little chaotic heaven that is London and how you see it.

My thank you was how I was expressing my gratitude. You said you never show your writing to anyone, yet you granted me the privilege of reading your words, and I betray your confidence with my silence. Please forgive me. I want to keep reading your words.

Daniel'