The cliffs above the estate had always been Aria’s quiet place.
When the halls grew too loud with judgment, when the ache beneath her ribs became too sharp to carry… she came here.
Tonight, the wind hummed through the trees like a lullaby she didn’t quite believe in. The sky stretched endlessly, the moon soft behind a veil of drifting clouds. It bathed the forest below in a silver glow, like it, too, was saying goodbye.
Aria moved across the rocky path slowly. Her boots crunched against the gravel, but she didn’t hurry. Each step was heavy, not with fear, but with decision. Her sweater tugged in the wind, her fingers curled around the letter she'd written with shaking hands.
The cold didn’t bite like it used to.
It was the warmth she had waited for that never came.
She reached the ov
