His eyes had pierced through her very being, carrying a weight of betrayal so profound it mirrored the look he had given her in their previous life. She wanted to scream, to explain, to weep—but her lips remained sealed by a cruel necessity.
He walked toward the door, pausing only to cast one final, lingering shadow over the room. "I wish you a good night," he murmured, his voice a ghost of its former strength.
Once Matthias vanished, leaving the room hollow and cold, Olivia stared at the door for several minutes. Her body felt like lead, her mind a fractured mess.
She sought refuge in a bath, hoping the water would wash away the scent of smoke and Cedric's touch, but the exhaustion was bone-deep. She finally collapsed onto the bed, craving the oblivion of sleep.
