LAVENDER POV
The room feels different after Laura leaves, not quieter , quieter would imply peace. This is something heavier. Like the walls themselves are holding their breath, waiting to see what happens next. Alex closes the door behind him without a word.
The sound is soft, final. I stand near the window, arms folded loosely across my stomach, staring at the garden I’ve memorized in the last few days, roses, gravel paths. A fountain that murmurs even when no one listens.
I don’t turn around. If I do, I might break.
“She shouldn’t have come here alone,” Alex says behind me.
His voice is low, controlled, too controlled. I swallow. “She didn’t raise her voice.”
“I know,” he replies immediately. “That’s how she does it.”
There’s bitterness there, old, familiar. I finally turn to fac
