Julia.
I woke up gasping, drenched in sweat, my chest heaving like I’d just run a marathon. My heart slammed against my ribs, the final echoes of the nightmare still clinging to the edges of my mind like cobwebs I couldn’t shake off.
Then I saw him.
Benjamin.
Standing over me.
With a pillow in his hands.
For a heartbeat, I couldn’t move. I was paralyzed. My body refused to cooperate, but my mind screamed—Run. Get out.
“What the hell are you doing?” I snapped, shooting up from the bed so fast that the sheets tangled around my legs. My voice cracked, equal parts fear and rage.
He laughed. Actually laughed. Like I’d just told him the dumbest joke in the world.
“Oh, relax,” he said, shaking his head. “If I wanted to kill you, Julia, I’ve had seven whole months to do it. Don’t be so dramatic.”
Then he turned, still chuckling to himself, and walked away—pillow still in hand like none of this was completely unhinged. Like he wasn’t completely unhinged.
I sat there, frozen. My fingers gripped
