Olivia woke to a room washed in fading gold, the kind of light that belonged not to morning or noon, but to the final breath of afternoon. It stretched softly across the ceiling, warm and low, as if the sun were offering its last gentle touch before surrendering to dusk. For a long moment, she lay still, her thoughts slow and dream-heavy, trying to understand where time had gone.
Then she glanced toward the glass wall.
The sky was already tilting into evening.
Her heart skipped. She pushed herself upright, blinking at the length of shadows draped across the floor. The entire day had slipped through her fingers quietly, without permission, without warning. She stared, disoriented, trying to recall the last thing she remembered before sleep had taken her. The ache in her body, the softnes
