~ ROSELLE ~
I wake to the morning light seeping through the curtains, slowly, stretching under the heavy duvet, and for the first time in what feels like forever, my chest doesn't feel like it's being crushed. The usual nagging weight, and constant anxiety clawing at my ribs—it's gone. There's only a deep, lingering ache… but it feels like relief. Like something heavy has finally been lifted off my chest.
I turn my head toward the couch, expecting to see Ronan's large frame still sprawled there under the blanket. But the couch is perfectly made. There's no sign of duvet, rumpled cushions, or any sign he ever slept there at all.
Heat floods my cheeks instantly. Last night rushes back, the way he looked at me in the shower, the raw hunger in his eyes. How I'd scurried away like a startle
