NICHOLAS’S POV

Morning rose with the kind of sharp clarity that left no room for excuses.

What happened the other night kept replaying, sour and heavy at the back of my mind, refusing to let me go.

Anna’s betrayal, Ava’s silence, and my own guilt twisted me up so bad I couldn’t sleep.

I showered longer than usual, letting the hot water burn into my skin, as though it could wash away everything that had happened.

But it couldn’t.

No matter how hot the water ran, the shower ...