Elizabeth’s POV

The next morning, the sun rose, but peace didn’t.

Whispers still moved through the air — softer now, not cruel like before, but curious. Pitying. People no longer laughed when I walked by; they simply stared, as though trying to understand how I’d survived the storm.

Part of me wanted to tell them I didn’t. Not really. I just learned how to walk through the ruins without looking back.

Jennifer was gone. Suspended.

When I entered the lecture hall, I ...