MELISSA’S POV

The next morning, I sluggishly dragged myself out of bed. My body felt heavier than usual, as though every bone and muscle carried the weight of yesterday. My eyes stung from crying too much, and my head throbbed from lack of sleep. The image of Xavier’s broken expression and his angry voice—Melissa, I hate lies… who is that guy?—looped over and over like a broken record I couldn’t shut off.

But I couldn’t let myself wallow. I had to do something. Because ...