Morning came anyway.
Amelia knew it before she opened her eyes, the thin, pale light slipping through the curtains, the quiet hum of the world waking up outside, the faint heaviness sitting in her chest like something that had settled there overnight and refused to move.
She hadn’t slept.
Not properly.
It had been the kind of night where time blurred, minutes stretching into hours, thoughts looping endlessly until exhaustion dragged her under in short, restless bursts.
Her eyes finally opened, staring up at the ceiling as everything came rushing back.
The restaurant.
Alexander.
Daniel.
Her choice.
A slow breath filled her lungs, then left just as unevenly.
She turned onto her side, pulling the sheets closer around her like that could somehow contain the storm she had gone to bed
