I didn’t remember walking home.
One minute I was outside the restaurant, the cold air hitting my face, my mind spinning so fast it hurt—
And the next, I was standing outside the house, staring at the front door like I’d never seen it before.
A fake marriage.
The words still didn’t feel real.
Nothing about this felt real.
I pushed the door open slowly and stepped inside.
“Maya?” Bessie’s voice came from the kitchen. “You’re back already?”
I didn’t answer straight away.
I slipped my shoes off, set my bag down, and leaned against the wall for a second, closing my eyes.
I needed to breathe.
Needed to think.
But my thoughts were a mess—overlapping, colliding, refusing to settle into anything clear.
“Maya?” Bessie appeared in the hallway, her expression shifting the moment she saw m
