The silence in the house is suffocating, a heavy shroud that wraps around me as I sit on the edge of the bed, my fingers combing through my damp hair, still wet from the shower. The hot water did little to wash away the weight of Oliver’s words—his confession about the contract, my father’s threat, the cage I’ve been trapped in for years. My mind is a storm, swirling with questions I don’t know how to answer. The truth he revealed feels like a splinter under my skin, sharp and impossible to ignore. I can’t let it go, not when it’s changed everything.
I wander downstairs, my bare feet soft against the cool hardwood, drawn to the garden—my sanctuary, the one place where the world feels a little less oppressive. The night air is crisp, tinged with the scent of jasmine and damp earth, and I s
