For someone like me, diving into medical books wasn’t exactly easy. But somehow, the pain of the last month had shifted something within me. It grounded me in ways I wasn’t ready to admit, forcing me to see life differently.

When Nora walked into the room, she paused briefly, her eyes scanning me. Then she stepped forward and gave my shoulder a light tap. "Welcome back."

She was the only person I’d confided in about Ashton’s death, and the only one who ...