Amelia POV

Nate and I started meeting more often—coffee in the mornings, long walks in the evening, sometimes just sitting in the park with takeaway sandwiches between us, talking about everything and nothing. He was easy to be around. Effortless in the way old friends often are, where silence didn’t scream and laughter didn’t have to be earned.

For a while, it felt like I was breathing again.

Like I wasn’t walking a tightrope every second of the day.

Like I wasn’t someone’s ...