Elena’s POV

The world does not magically reset just because I am home again.

I keep waiting for that moment when my body finally relaxes, when my shoulders stop tensing every time someone closes a door too hard, when my heart stops jumping for no clear reason, and when my hands stop shaking if I hear footsteps behind me, but that moment never really comes. Instead, I wake up every morning with this heavy feeling sitting in my chest, like my body is still stuck in survival mode even though my ...