Freedom is a lie when your fate is already sealed.
You know that cliché movie scene where someone wakes up after an incident? The slow flutter of eyelids, the fuzzy fade-in of consciousness, snatches of conversation drifting in and out? Sometimes they wake with amnesia, unsure who or where they are.
Turns out, that’s all wrong.
The moment my eyes snapped open, the world came into brutal, crystal-clear focus. Every agonizing detail from last night surged back like a tidal wave—Chase’s voice, his grip, Alex’s punch, and the suffocating shame that coated my skin like poison. My heart clenched.
I wasn’t in my room.
This one was clean. Too clean. Stark white walls and minimalist furniture. The white curtains were drawn back, letting in the soft morning light, which glinted off the polished
