Chapter 19: After the Heat
Olivia's "Liv" Winters’ POV
Silence after heat is the cruelest thing.
It settles heavy in the air, clinging to your skin like the ghost of every bad decision you didn’t consciously make. The hotel room felt too bright, too clean, too real for what had just happened inside it.
The curtains were half-open, allowing pale morning light to spill across the sheets. Dust drifted lazily through the beam, untouched and unconcerned by the storm that had torn through my life only hours before.
Everything looked normal.
That was the worst part.
The city outside kept moving. Cars continued to pass. People walked sidewalks. Somewhere, someone was probably ordering coffee and complaining about work.
Meanwhile, my entire world felt like it had been cracked down the middl
