*Hope*

A loud, sharp banging on the door jolted me awake, slicing through the fragile threads of sleep I’d managed to gather. My heart thudded in my chest, the noise leaving me disoriented for a moment before the reality of it sank in. Of course. Another morning ruined.

Since the day I’d stepped into this marriage, uninterrupted sleep had become a distant memory. Every morning, there was something—a fight, a call, a commotion. It was as if the universe had decided peaceful slumber ...