Chapter 40

• I’d found him in every song, in every melody of heartbreak I listened to as if each note carried a fragment of the love I could never confess, but his love for Reile wasn’t just a memory; it was a part of him.
• ARLET
• In silence, we came home. The weight of the evening clung to me like a second skin, heavy and unyielding. I took Raya to her room, helping her change into her soft pajamas. Her sleepy eyes followed my every move, and despite my turmoil, I smiled at her—she deserved that much. I picked one of her favorite bedtime stories. With each page, her eyes fluttered until they finally closed, her tiny chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. My little world.