|Katherine|
I woke up because of hunger.
It was the first thing I felt—the hollow ache twisting in my stomach, sharp enough to drag me out of sleep. My lashes fluttered open, and the familiar ceiling light came into view. The same one I’d seen the very first time I woke up in this room.
My heart lurched.
Javier’s room.
The realization hit like ice water. I bolted upright, pulse pounding, panic squeezing tight around my ribs. How the hell did I end up here? My eyes darted wildly around the space, searching, half-expecting him to emerge from some corner, but the silence was unbroken.
“Javier?” My voice cracked, uncertain, the sound bouncing off the walls.
Nothing.
Only my own shallow breaths filled the air.
The curtains to my left were still drawn, heavy and suffocating. I pushed my
