Erick
The morning sunlight spilled softly through the curtains of my small cottage, painting golden streaks on the floorboards.
I had been awake for hours, staring at the ceiling, my mind haunted by one image….
Sophia’s face from yesterday.
The way she smiled faintly while working, the way her shoulders drooped when she thought no one was watching, the exhaustion that seemed to cling to her like a second skin.
I had promised myself I wouldn’t go to her again.
Not until I had a solid plan, not until I knew what to say.
But the longer I lay there, the louder my heart argued with reason.
She looked so tired.
So alone.
The idea of her struggling in silence while I sat here doing nothing felt unbearable.
It had been easy to play the noble man in theory, keeping my distance, respec
