Chapter 122

The first night away from him felt unreal.

She lay on her friend’s couch, staring at the ceiling long after the lights were turned off. The room smelled different—lavender detergent, unfamiliar air, comfort that didn’t belong to memories of him. Every time she closed her eyes, her mind tried to pull her back to the house, to the bed, to the version of herself that kept hoping he would suddenly become someone else.

She didn’t cry.

That surprised her.

She had expected ...