ALESSA'S POVThe next morning crept in quietly, almost as if the sun itself didn't want to disturb me. I lay in bed longer than usual, staring at the pale curtains that shifted with the breeze. My body felt heavy, though I had slept through the night. Sleep hadn't been rest, it had been escape, broken into fragments by thoughts that wouldn't leave me alone.Yesterday had drained me. The laughter, the apologies, the endless circle of trying to convince myself I was fine when, deep down, I wasn't. I had smiled, I had spoken, I had gone through the motions of being Alessa, the wife, the daughter, the woman everyone expected me to be but I hadn't been myself.I rose slowly, dragging my feet toward the washroom. The water that touched my face was cool, crisp, as though it wanted to remind me that the world outside was still moving, even if I was stuck in my head. I forced myself into my normal routine: brush, wash, eat, tidy. Each action felt mechanical, a script my body remembered even
Last Updated : 2025-11-05 Read more