AVA’S POV

Morning light slipped gently through the tall windows, and filled Nicholas’s mansion with a soft golden glow.

I woke up slowly, my body still buzzed from last night, the heat, the touch, the way it left me shaking and breathless. Nicholas wasn’t there.

My chest tightened as I rolled over, stared at the empty space beside me. The sheets still smelled like him, his scent clinged to the air like a memory I couldn’t shake.

I hugged the blanket to my chest, the emptiness beside me ...