Chapter 97

LYDIA’S POV

The months that followed did not pass quietly.

They came with weight. With exhaustion. With a kind of emotional strain that settled deep into my bones and refused to leave. Living alone was not as easy as I had imagined it would be.

It was not peaceful in the way I thought it would be. It was lonely.

There were days I woke up and questioned everything, my choices, my strength, even my