Sunlight sliced through the half-closed blinds in cruel, golden bars across the bed. Lila woke slowly, the way one surfaces from deep water—disoriented, heavy-limbed, every muscle singing with the dull ache of too much use and not enough rest.
She was alone.
The sheets on Nico’s side were cool, the indentation of his body already gone. No note on the pillow. No lingering scent of him except the faint musk of s*x and sweat that clung to her skin and the rumpled crimson dress still pooled on the floor like spilled wine. She stared at the empty space beside her for a long moment, chest tight with something she refused to name.
She rolled onto her back, arms flung wide, and let the ceiling fan stir the air over her naked body. Her skin felt different—tighter, more sensitive, as though the w
