Scarlett’s POV
The house had grown quieter since the storm. Not just in sound, but in atmosphere. Like it was holding its breath, waiting for someone to speak the words that would shake the walls again.
I had made peace with the quiet. It gave me room to think. Room to feel without interruption. Room to rebuild, slowly and on my own terms.
And then Cassie came back.
Not storming through the front doors, not flinging accusations like she usually did, but quietly. Hesitantly. As if unsure whether she still had a right to walk these halls.
I spotted her through the window first, stepping out of a dark car in heels too tall for gravel. She stood there for a moment, looking up at the estate like it had betrayed her. Her perfectly polished nails clenched her bag tighter. Then she walked up
