The Price of Distance

Vane Silas’s Pov

Morning spilled weak light across the hallway, the kind that didn’t warm anything—just exposed everything you were trying to hide. Hazel’s soft footsteps echoed first, followed by the rustle of bags, then Greta’s voice drifting from the living room. I stepped out of my study at the same moment they were heading toward the front door.

Hazel froze momentarily when she saw me, clutch