Chapter 142Ella POVI locked the door myself. For some reason, that detail mattered to me more than it should have. I did not want anyone to believe I had been shut away, hidden, or restrained. My hands making sure to hear that quiet click of the lock felt deliberate, almost ceremonial, as though I were drawing a boundary around what remained of me.The room was familiar, warm, and suddenly too large. The windows were tall, the furniture carefully chosen, the bed immaculate. Everything about it suggested safety, comfort, and privilege. None of it reached me. I stood there for a long time after closing the door, listening to my own breathing, waiting for something inside me to collapse.It didn’t and that frightened me more than tears would have. I did not cry. I did not scream. I did not throw anything or tear the room apart. I simply sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at the wall, replaying memories that no longer aligned the way they used to. Moments that had once felt in
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