Chapter 25

**Evangeline's POV**

The alarm clock screams at 6:00 AM, but I've been awake for hours. Sleep left me somewhere between Ronan's cruel words and the endless loop of yesterday's humiliation playing in my head. I stare at the ceiling, counting the cracks in the paint like they hold answers to questions I'm too tired to ask.

My body aches. Not from bruises or cuts, but from something deeper. From carrying the weight of everyone's hatred. From pretending their words ...