Morning came wrapped in golden light. The sunlight was warm and gentle, spilling across the room and revealing the tiny specks of dust dancing in the air.
Tessa woke up feeling different. Lighter, as if the heavy weight that had always pressed on her shoulders had suddenly vanished. When she sat up, something caught her eye and made her freeze: a ring on her finger. Last night, she thought she’d dreamed of Nathan slipping it on her, but apparently, it wasn’t a dream at all.
The ring was hers. Her father’s gift on her eighteenth birthday. It shimmered with a faint glow, the teardrop-shaped diamond catching the light and scattering tiny rainbows across the walls. Tessa let out a long breath, relief and gratitude rushing through her so sharply it almost hurt. Nathan had somehow kept it safe
