Valeria's POV
The night in Rool River Town was unusually silent. Eric’s black car was the only sound on the winding mountain road, its engine a steady hum breaking through the stillness.
For the past fifteen minutes, I’d been staring out the window, my eyes lost somewhere in the distant darkness. Yet my mind was fixated on a different question: How much longer could I bear the silence between Eric and me?
My reflection appeared in the car window, lit by the soft glow of streetlights. The golden light spread across my face, creating a painterly effect, almost like an oil painting filter.
My face was bare, as Eric’s stylist had described it. Fine brows, tiny ears, a complexion that exuded a pale, delicate beauty. Even the tear-shaped mole under my left eye was barely noticeable, like a t
