Sophia
The days that followed passed in a strange, muted blur, the bakery's usual rhythms carrying on around me even as everything else in my life felt suspended in uncertainty.
Noah kept his word about giving me space, no calls, no unexpected visits, just the occasional simple text checking in without any pressure attached to it. **Thinking of you. No response needed.** **Hope today's a little easier than yesterday.** Small, quiet reminders that he was still there, still waiting, without ever crossing the boundary I'd asked him to respect.
I told myself the silence was helping, that the distance was giving me the clarity I needed to figure out what I actually wanted. Mostly, though, it just felt like grief, a strange, hollow ache that followed me through every part of the day, from the
