(Hailey Miller’s POV)
Sleep never came. I lay awake until dawn, my eyes locked on my phone as if it might suddenly detonate in my hands. Every creak of the building made my chest clench. Every shadow stretching across the walls twisted into the shape of someone watching me.
By the time pale morning light bled through the floor-to-ceiling windows, I felt stripped bare. Hollow. Like grief had dug its claws beneath my skin and refused to let go.
Liam was already gone when I dragged myself into the kitchen. A note sat neatly on the counter, written in his precise, controlled handwriting: Early meeting. Back by lunch. Coffee’s ready.
Of course, the coffee was perfect. It always was when he made it.
I moved through the motions of feeding the babies, my body functioning while my mind felt de
