MELISSA'S POV

The sky slowly brightened as dawn broke, spreading a soft golden light, and the sun rose gently—quiet and steady, like a new beginning.

I had barely gotten any sleep. My mind, still reeling from yesterday’s chaos, refused to shut down. The whirlwind of emotions, the fakeness of it all, the way the crowd watched our every move—it all haunted me long after I closed the door to my house last night.

So when my phone buzzed on the nightstand, the noise slicing through the ...