Chapter 22: The Cold Morning After
POV: Elowen Hart
The woman in the mirror was a stranger.
I stood in my small room, grey light from the brick wall outside bleeding through the window, and stared at my reflection. My blouse was ruined, buttons missing. A single safety pin held it closed, the metal cold against my skin. His marks were still on me… faint bruises blooming on my hips where his fingers had dug in, and a vivid red mark on my throat where his mouth had claimed me.
I touched it. The skin was tender. I pressed harder, chasing the ache, but I couldn’t make myself stop.
“This never happened.”
The words kept ringing in my ears like a cruel echo.
I pulled my jacket on, my hands shaking as I fastened the buttons. I hadn’t slept. I hadn’t eaten. I had simply sat on the edge of my
