Sophia
The silence after Max left felt heavier than anything I’d ever known.
The air in the small cottage seemed to thicken, pressing down on me from all sides, until even breathing felt like an effort.
Erick was still standing tall, and imposing, his presence filling the little space like the walls themselves bent toward him.
His eyes were on me, unblinking.
And yet… even in that uncertainty, there was that same magnetic pull.
The one I had spent months trying to sever, the one that had haunted me in every dream and shadow.
He was really here.
I could feel his scent clinging to the air, warm pine and smoke, the unmistakable scent of home.
It made my chest ache.
I wanted to run to him and slap him all at once.
I wanted to scream at him for finding me, for not letting me heal,
