heels clicked against the pavement, but every sound was drowned beneath the storm. She didn't run. She didn't even fl

r thumb hovering above the green button, her heart pounding so hard it felt

opped. And somehow, that silence hurt worse

hair out of her face. Her breath came in sharp bursts - part shock, part cold.

platinum band felt heavier than ever - not just me

once, twice...

er skin, a ghost of loyalt

, to hear the sound of it clattering i

to reveal Lena, Amara's best friend - sharp-tongued, unapologetica

na shouted o

d the door and climbed in, the warmth of the c

nded her a towel from the back seat and kept d

her voice was low. "You

herself to answer,

on the steering wheel.

her

told you he was trash the moment he st

e window. "You were right," she whispered, v

r now. "Do you wan

id. Then, quie

marrying Ethan. The building was quiet, half-forgotten, but the sight of it stirr

d ever come back h

ne. "Then maybe that's e

yes red but steady. "C

t," Lena said. "You don'

'd left it - the books stacked on the shelf, the framed photographs of her parents, th

et, and sank onto the couch. The silence pressed in, but i

rang aga

until it stopped. Then, s

l me again

aced the phone face

he windows. Her heartbeat began to slow. Her chest still hurt, but beneath

. It wasn't revenge

than's attention was the night she

k in the armor that would one day make him fall to his kne