Amelia’s POV
The fresh air in the garden helped for a while, but the thoughts wouldn’t stop spinning in my head. Charles. Lisa. The cancelled wedding. The marks on my body from two men I barely knew. I couldn’t sit still anymore. If I stayed at home, my family would keep trying to talk about it, and I wasn’t ready for that.
I went back inside, changed into a simple black dress that covered most of the marks, and told my mom I was going to the office.
“Are you sure, honey?” she asked, worry lines deep on her forehead. “You don’t have to work today. Everything is still so fresh.”
“I need to distract myself, Mom. Sitting at home is making it worse.”
She nodded slowly and hugged me tight. “Be careful. And come back if it gets too much.”
I drove to our family company building in the city.
