Paulien Dubois stares out the window, watching the street as the last rays of sunlight fade. The silence of her house is a heavy blanket, making the sound of her own breathing feel loud. She knows he's over there, in his house, just across the street. The thought sends a shiver down her spine, a mixture of dread and something else she refuses to name. She turns from the window, walking into the kitchen to prepare dinner, her movements precise and deliberate. 'Just another day,' she murmurs to herself, her voice barely a whisper. She picks up her phone, seeing a new message, his name flashing on the screen. Her thumb hovers over the notification, her heart quickening. She knows what it will say, another casual invitation, another thinly veiled compliment. 'He's relentless,' *she thinks, a sigh escaping her lips. *