(Lyra’s POV)
By the time I stepped into my apartment, my body felt like it had been carrying chains all day. The air was still, heavy, almost too thick to breathe. Usually this place was my safe corner of the world. Tonight, it was a cage.
I dropped my bag by the door, the sound too loud in the quiet. My hands shook as I tugged off my shoes. I kept hearing his words.
“If you’re ready for the proposal, come to the marriage register office tomorrow. Nine a.m.”
Nine tomorrow.
The number pulsed in my head like a heartbeat I couldn’t escape. I pressed a hand against my chest, telling my heart to calm, but it only pounded harder.
Why had he said that?
Why couldn’t I stop replaying it?
Tomorrow.
The word thudded against my chest with every heartbeat.
I should have felt angry. Or maybe i
