The road stretched endlessly before me, shrouded in mist and silence. I kept walking, one foot in front of the other, even as the weight in my chest threatened to drag me under.
I should have kept running.
I wanted to keep running.
But the second I heard footsteps behind me, slow and deliberate, I knew—they had come for me.
“Ava.”
I froze.
The voice was a blade down my spine, sharp and inevitable.
I turned slowly, and there he was.
Asher.
Rain clung to his dark hair, his chest rising and falling like he had chased me here. His eyes—those same eyes that had once made me feel safe—were unreadable now.
But he wasn’t alone.
Dottie stood beside him.
And behind them both—my father.
A pit yawned open in my stomach.
No.
No, no, no.
“What the hell is this?” My voice came out hoarse.
