EMMA'S POV
The rain had stopped sometime during the night, leaving the city rinsed and reflective, as though it had been given a chance to start again. Emma noticed it first in the quiet—no steady tapping on the windows, no distant hiss of tires cutting through water. The silence felt deliberate, almost expectant. She woke slowly, her body heavy with sleep but her mind clear in a way that felt earned.
For several minutes, she stayed where she was, staring at the faint outline of the ceiling as dawn began to bleed into the room. Morning light crept in carefully, touching the edges of the space rather than flooding it. She breathed deeply, letting the air fill her lungs without effort, without urgency. There was nothing she had to brace for today. That alone felt like a victory.
