ISLA
She drove until the city blurred behind her.
The skyline gave way to winding roads and hills shrouded in early evening fog, but she didn’t stop. Not until the world felt quiet enough to let her fall apart.
An old inn tucked between pine trees and shadowed cliffs. That’s where she ended up. A place far removed from the chaos and glass towers where her life had been burning.
She checked in under a different name. No questions. No glances.
Just silence.
Just space.
She dropped her phone on the nightstand, face down.
No messages. No calls.
Damien hadn’t followed.
He knew better now.
And still… her chest ached with the hollow echo of his name.
***
She showered in near darkness, the water scalding, trying to scrub the memory of him from her skin.
But it clung.
The scent of hi
