(Hailey Miller POV)
I woke with a tight band across my chest and the taste of cotton in my mouth. Sleep had been thin—edges frayed and full of small nightmares. Caleb fussed first; Isabella whimpered a moment later. I drew them both close without thinking. At first my body protested, then the milk came and the ache eased. With that small, ordinary relief, the day began.
The hallway clock still ran fast. Seven minutes ahead, stubborn as a rumor. It didn’t change what had happened, only how others would read the record later—the courier’s stamp arriving on borrowed time. The thought felt less reassuring than poisonous.
A knock at the door made me flinch.
“May I?” Liam called softly.
“Not yet,” I answered before I thought.
He left a warm compress on the doorframe, wrapped in white. He d
