MELISSA’S POV

I didn’t give myself the chance to think twice.

If I did, I knew my stubborn brain would talk me out of it, tell me to “let it go” like some unbothered, graceful queen. But I wasn’t unbothered. I was bothered enough to feel it in my pulse, in the way my jaw clenched as I grabbed my phone, tossed it onto the bed, and stormed to the bathroom.

The shower was quick—barely enough time for the water to turn warm before I stepped out, wrapped myself in the nearest ...