POV: Lina
I did not sleep that night.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Maya standing in the garden, arms folded, watching me like she already knew everything. Then I saw Daniel’s face tense, hurt, determined and my mother’s sharp glare as she dragged me back inside.
By morning, my body felt heavy, but my mind was too loud to rest.
The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes was that the house was already awake. I could hear voices downstairs, the sound of cups clinking, footsteps moving fast across tiles.
My heart tightened immediately.
I lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, wondering if last night had been real or just a nightmare. But when my phone buzzed beside me, I knew it was real.
Maya: We need to talk. Today.
I dropped the phone on the bed like it burned my
