Once he arrived back home safely, Stefan pushed open the door to Ethan's house and stepped inside, the click of the lock behind him sounding far too loud in the silence.
The space was dim, lit only by the soft golden glow of the entryway chandelier. He dropped his keys into the ceramic bowl by the door, their clink sharp in the quiet, then shrugged off his coat and draped it over the back of a chair.
He stood there for a long moment, his thoughts racing in circles.
He had gone to Rayna's house with hope—a desperate kind of hope that maybe, just maybe, Ruby would be willing to hear him out. But that hope had shattered the second Rayna opened the door and stared at him like he was the last person she wanted to see.
And now he was back where he started or was it even worse?
