Anna's eyes fluttered open to the dim morning light filtering through the curtains. The bed beside her was cold, the space empty. Jaden was gone.
Her chest tightened, the familiar ache from the night before creeping back. She sat up, glancing around the room for any sign of him, but there was none. The emptiness in the room seemed louder than it ever had before. She had known—deep down—that he wouldn’t be there when she woke up. But that didn’t make the absence any less real.
With a sigh, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood, feeling the coolness of the floor beneath her feet. She walked toward the window, staring out at the sprawling grounds of the Blackwell estate. It was quiet outside, the morning mist clinging to the trees like a shroud. The mansion stood silent, alm
