Chapter 15 Restlessness

• The house was silent, save for the faint hum of the refrigerator and the occasional creak of the floorboards as Victoria moved about the kitchen. The grocery bags were long unpacked, and the dishes she hadn’t needed to wash still sat drying on the counter. The routine was mindless, but her hands kept busy, scrubbing at invisible marks on the countertop as though the action might wipe away the lingering thoughts clawing at her mind.
• She glanced at the clock above the stove. 11:17 PM. Daniel was already in bed, or at least she assumed so. He hadn’t said anything when he turned off the television and disappeared down the hallway. No “goodnight,” no small acknowledgment that she was still there.
• Victoria sighed and leaned against the counter, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. The ache in her heart hadn’t dulled; it had only sharpened with the passing hours. She stared out the kitchen window into the dark void of the backyard, the faint outline of the fence barely visible under the moonlight. It felt like a reflection of her own life—walls closing in, offering no way out.