♦♦♦♦A month had passed since Eleanor had vanished from the chaos that had consumed her life, since she had closed the door on the Hales, on Lucas, on Lewis, and on everything that had once felt familiar yet dangerous. The world felt quieter now, though the quiet was uneasy, a fragile peace balanced on the edge of the past she refused to revisit.She sat alone by the lakeside, her fingers grazing the surface of the water with absent-minded rhythm. The lake reflected the fading light of the afternoon sun, turning the ripples into shards of molten gold. Birds called somewhere in the distance, and the wind whispered through the trees, but Eleanor didn’t notice the beauty. She stared straight ahead, her back rigid, her expression unreadable, a mask she wore as protection against the world and against herself.A sigh escaped her lips, heavy and tired. She hadn’t cried in weeks, hadn’t allowed herself the weakness, yet the emptiness pressed against her chest relentlessly. She missed him. Sh
Last Updated : 2026-03-10 Read more