Viktoria POV
I wake with a start, my heart pounding. For a second, I can’t remember where I am or why the morning light feels so loud in my room. Then last night's events come flooding in.
Kaden! Kaden was here last night.
I throw the blanket aside and hurry to the living room. My bare feet slap against the floor, my pulse racing. The couch in the living room is empty. The blanket I gave him is folded neatly on the armrest, the mug he used is washed and placed upside down to dry. Everything looks so normal that, for a heartbeat, I wonder if I dreamed it all.
Maybe I imagined the warmth of his gaze holding mine, his voice as he groaned in pain. Maybe my loneliness conjured him up like a ghost that disappeared at dawn.
But before I can finish convincing myself it wasn't real, my mothe
