Chapter 71

Maya’s POV

The mall hummed, a constant, low thrum of a thousand conversations, distant pop music, and the rush of air conditioning.

Bright lights streamed down from the high ceiling, bouncing off polished floors and glittering storefronts.

It was a stark contrast to the heavy feeling still weighing on my chest from that night.

Daniel, my brother, was battling some invisible enemy, some war I only vaguely understood, hinted at by his tired eyes and the tension in his jaw.

And then Sienna’s face when I showed up alone at her door, the way her happy smile crumpled into a raw, vulnerable sadness—that image had clung to me all morning.

It all just sat with me, a dull ache behind my ribs. But right now, for this moment, I had a clear mission: Operation Get Zoe Out of Her Shell.

She was walking beside me, shoulders stiff, eyes wide, looking like a deer caught in blinding headlights. The sheer volume of choices, the endless racks of clothes,