Chapter 61

Alaria

The bed was cold when I woke.

Not just empty, cold, as though he’d been gone for a while.

And for a second, though I knew that I was going to deny it, I found myself frowning.

My hand stayed there on the sheets, fingers splayed over the space where Liam had been, remembering the warmth of his body, the weight of his arm around me, the way I’d fallen asleep tucked against him like there had never been years between us. Like everything was normal. Like the two of us were finally standing on grounds where we thought that things were stable.

I told myself it was better this way, that I didn’t need the complication of waking up next to him… but the truth was, I had wanted to. I wanted him by my side. I wanted to be by his side.

My chest tightened before I forced myself to roll over and check the clock.

“Damn it.”

I was late. Anastasia should already be up, eating breakfast, getting ready for school.

I jumped out of bed,