( HAILEY POV)

Long after Santino walked away, I stood there ,frozen.

The silence in the hallway feels heavy, pressing on my chest like a weight I can’t lift. The sound of laughter and clinking glasses from the garden feels far away, like it’s coming from another world. My world has gone still.

I blink, trying to keep the tears back, but one slips free and rolls down my cheek. It burns. I hate that it burns.

The faint clatter of something falling nearby jolts me back to myself. I realize ...