Sophie woke up the next morning with a strange feeling in her chest.
The memory of last night refused to leave her. She kept seeing Vanessa’s calm eyes across the dinner table, the way her smile changed when their gazes met, and how her perfume had lingered in the air even after she left. Sophie tried to shake it off. She went about her usual routine; making coffee, checking her college emails, and sketching a little in her notebook. But her drawings kept turning into soft curves and elegant lines that reminded her of Vanessa.
Around midday, her mother’s phone rang. Clara picked it up in the living room and her face changed almost immediately.
“Oh no… yes, I’ll handle it,” Clara said, sounding stressed. “Give me ten minutes. I need to go upstairs and check the files on my laptop.”
Clar
