By morning, Jessica was back in her dorm room, pretending her world hadn’t cracked open the night before. She moved carefully, like sudden motions might cause something inside her to spill over. The air felt different, heavier, as if it remembered what she had done even if she was trying her hardest to forget.
The first thing she did was count the money. Twice. Then once more, just to make sure her hands weren’t imagining it. She lined the bills slowly, smoothing each one out as if that tiny act could erase where they came from. Her heartbeat kept tripping over itself, the kind of rhythm only fear and relief could create together.
₱90,000. Exactly what was promised.
Her chest tightened as she stared at the bundles laid out on her small desk. The early light filtered through the window,
