LOGINElona's POV
I could still feel the weight of the hospital bedsheets against my skin, even though I was no longer there. The pain had dulled into a background throb, like a low drumbeat I couldn’t silence, but I was out. Free, in a sense. And I was here, in Tristan’s house, cocooned in a silence that felt both safe and fragile.
He moved about the kitchen with quiet determination, his back to me, the muscles under his T-shir
Elona's POVThe air was cool in the old lounge, the scent of dust clinging to velvet and once polished wood. It felt like I had stepped back in time, into a preserved part of Tristan’s life that hadn’t been disturbed in years. I just wanted to really explore this part of the house again while Tristan had taken Spooky back to my apartment. I stood still for a moment, just letting it settle around me...the silence, the quiet ache of nostalgia.The sheets draped over the furniture moved slightly in the draft. But it wasn’t the quiet or the antique furniture that caught my attention first. It was the paintings. The ones Tristan had carefully mounted along the wall, the ones painted by my mother. My throat tightened. I stepped closer to them, reaching out but not quite touching them.
Tristan's POVThe sun had barely pierced through the grey clouds when Eric arrived. He wanted to see Elona, and I'm glad that he's here. That kid had a loyalty streak I admired, maybe too much for his own good. I opened the door, letting him in with a nod. He looked tired and drained, like he hadn’t slept properly in days.Elona was resting in my bedroom, finally getting some color back in her cheeks after everything. I didn’t want to wake her. I needed to have this conversation with Eric first. "Hey," I said, motioning to the lounge. "Make yourself comfortable. I want to talk to you."He stepped inside, his manner of walking was slow, his shoulders slouched under the weight of something heavier than just exhaustion. He looked like someone who had walked through a fire with nothing left to burn. He sat on the far end of the sofa, hands folded in front of him, eyes darting once toward the hall
Elona's POVI could still feel the weight of the hospital bedsheets against my skin, even though I was no longer there. The pain had dulled into a background throb, like a low drumbeat I couldn’t silence, but I was out. Free, in a sense. And I was here, in Tristan’s house, cocooned in a silence that felt both safe and fragile.He moved about the kitchen with quiet determination, his back to me, the muscles under his T-shirt flexing with each careful movement. The house smelled of toast and melted cheese, a comforting scent that almost made me forget how hollow my stomach felt. I hadn’t eaten properly in days.“You didn’t have to go through all this trouble,” I murmured, shifting slightly on the bar stool by the kitchen counter, pulling my hoodie tighter around myself.Tristan glanced over his shoulder. His gaze softened. “It’s not troub
Tristan's POVWhen I walked up my driveway, I hadn’t expected to see any cars, let alone two. David’s sedan and Cris’s car parked side-by-side like they belonged. My stomach coiled with unease. David had said he was leaving for a business trip this morning. And Cris wanted to look for the old articles her mother wrote. So what the hell was David doing here?I walked up the few steps, every bone in my body was alert. As soon as the door creaked open, I heard it...a breathless gasp, the faint shuffle of hurried footsteps, and then... A muffled moan.I didn’t think. I stormed forward, down the hall toward the noise, and there, against the wall, I saw them. Cris, my only daughter, pressed against David's chest, his hand splayed at her waist, their
Elona's POVThe late morning sun spilled through the curtains of my old bedroom, bathing everything in a soft, golden light. It was one of those quiet days where time felt like it moved underwater, slow, thick, and distorted by painkillers and exhaustion. My body ached in places I couldn’t quite locate, and my heart? It throbbed like a dull bruise I couldn’t massage away. Recovery was more than physical.I had been moved to my dad’s house after the hospital released me early this morning. They said I needed quiet, comfort, and supervision. I wasn’t sure I had any of those things except quiet. The silence here was loud in its own right. I had just managed to doze off again when I heard the door creak open. I looked up to see my father standing in the doorway, his hand resting on the edge of the door frame like he needed to lean on something before speaking.“Elona,” he
Tristan's POVI left VFS with fury still simmering beneath my skin, the tension in my jaw was like a steel vice. Delance’s indifference clung to me like a stench I couldn’t wash off. Her smugness... her apathy, and the way she dismissed Elona’s suffering like it was some necessary evil in the pursuit of glory. It took everything in me not to slam her door on the way out. But I wasn’t done. There was still a ghost from the past that needed to be confronted.Grace.The name soured in my mouth the second it crept into my thoughts. I hadn’t thought about her in months, not since the news of our loss. The push on that d^mn camp during volleyball, the way Elona had crumpled and held her stomach and winced in pain. The look in her eyes. I will never forget that moment, and it was happening in front of me. Hell, it happened on my birthday. The anger inside of me intensified.
Elona's POVWe woke up a bit early. Cris was herself but seemed to be a little distant. I guess that the wallpaper on my phone really made her think that her father was choosing me over her. That is far from it. I wish that I could tell her the truth, but if
Elona's POVWe were on our way home in Tristan's car. The bus dropped us off at school earlier. I slept the entire journey back. In fact, I had to ask Cris to get some painkillers for me last night and I slept through most of the night, not interacting with a
Elona's POVTristan pulled up in front of my house, my dad's car was in the driveway. The ride to my house was silent, and I knew it was due to what Tristan had been going through recently. I was going to let him go through the motions and I would just be here supporting h
Tristan's POVI was sitting in the lounge, going through documents from my company. I worked late last night and I do not know what time I went to bed. Some money had been taken from my company by this person, and I'm trying to keep track of everything. I do







