The days after that night blurred into one another, each passing like a shadow in the corner of her mind, a reminder of what she had become. Claire couldn’t escape the weight of what she had done, yet she found herself drawn back to Lucas again and again. His presence was like a drug—dark, intoxicating, and all-consuming. Every touch, every whispered word, made her forget the ache in her chest, the guilt gnawing at her insides. But no matter how deep she sank into the abyss he created, she couldn’t silence the voice in her head, the one that reminded her of Ethan.
Ethan, the man who had loved her without question, without hesitation. Ethan, who would never know what she had done.
She had tried to distance herself from him, to push him away, but it wasn’t enough. The guilt had begun to se
