ALEX
The Mediterranean sun poured through the open balcony doors, casting golden streaks across the sleek marble floor. The air smelled of salt and citrus, the soft crash of waves below a soothing lull. It should have been paradise. A place of rest. A distraction.
But nothing could silence the war raging in my mind.
I lay on the couch, staring blankly at the ceiling, willing my thoughts to shut off. They never did. No matter how many months passed. No matter how many distractions my father threw in my path.
Arrde’s face still haunted me.
The way she would look at me when we finally saw each other—the raw hurt, the quiet betrayal, the silent question burning in her eyes: Why?
I had burned that memory into my mind like a brand, searing and inescapable. It haunted me in the dead of nigh
