Chapter 85

Ryker

The bathwater had gone lukewarm by the time Avery's tears finally dried, leaving her eyes swollen and red-rimmed but somehow clearer than before—as though the storm of grief had scoured away years of accumulated pain, exposing raw but honest ground beneath. I dried her carefully with a soft towel, noting how she leaned into my touch despite her exhaustion, and when I lifted her from the tub