Emma woke to the same heavy ache in her chest, but this time it wasn’t the cramp. It was something softer, like a slow drip of anticipation she couldn’t quite shake. The house was quiet upstairs Mark had already left for his early shift at the warehouse, the kind he always claimed was “just to keep the lights on.” She slipped out of bed without waking him, bare feet cold on the hardwood, and padded downstairs in nothing but the black collar and the thin silver chain that hung from it like a reminder. No ring today. She’d hidden that under the sink yesterday after the night at the park, when she’d decided the collar was enough for now.
The kitchen smelled like coffee and the faint ghost of last night’s whiskey. She moved through her usual routine, but the plugs were already waiting on the
