ISABELLA
I barely slept.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Daniel’s face — the way his smile faltered, the way he tried to stay composed, the way he walked away without looking back. I kept hearing his voice, soft and resigned, telling me goodbye like he was letting go of something he’d been holding onto for too long.
And then there was Adrian.
The storm in his eyes.
The way he stepped toward me like he was fighting himself.
The way he left like he was punishing us both.
I lay awake for hours, staring at the ceiling, replaying every moment until guilt settled like a stone in my stomach. I felt torn in two — one half grieving Daniel, the other half furious at Adrian, and somewhere beneath all of it, a quiet ache I didn’t want to name.
When I finally drifted off, it was shallow, res
