Damien’s POV
Before I got home, it was already dark, and all I wanted was to take the weight of the day off my skin. I went straight to the shower, turned on the water, and stood under it until the steam blurred the mirror and my thoughts quieted down. The house was silent, the kind of silence that feels wrong when you’ve spent too long listening for noise. I stayed there longer than I needed to, hoping the heat would burn off the restlessness sitting under my ribs, but it didn’t.
When I came out, I buttoned half my shirt and walked toward her room, thinking maybe she was already asleep. The door was half open, just swinging there lightly, and I don’t know why that stopped me for a second, but it did. She never left it open.
I pushed it wider, called her name once, expecting that soft v
