The opulent silence of the apartment had become Sophia’s unwelcome companion in recent days, each echoing footsteps a stark reminder of Hunter’s increasing absence, both physically and emotionally.
Tonight, however, the silence was punctuated by a different kind of disquiet – the throbbing in her head, the nausea that clawed at her throat, and the unsettling lightness that made her limbs feel disconnected from her body. She stumbled through the front door, her hand gripping the cool metal of the door frame as a dizzying wave threatened to send her crashing to the polished marble floor.
Her carefully applied makeup couldn’t entirely mask the pallor of her skin, and a fine sheen of sweat had broken out on her forehead despite the apartment’s controlled temperature. Each step she took towa
