Chapter 186

DAHLIA

I didn’t remember how I left the café.

One moment I was standing there, hollowed out by a television screen and Alex’s voice, and the next I was outside, the air sharp against my skin, my body moving on instinct alone. My feet carried me forward even though my mind lagged somewhere far behind, stuck on a face I loved and a word I couldn’t accept.

Dead.

The street felt unreal. Cars passed. People laughed. Life continued with an audacity that made my chest ache. How could the world keep spinning when Sebastian was—when he was—

I pressed my hand to my mouth as my breath broke apart. I didn’t cry loudly. I didn’t scream. It was worse than that. Everything inside me went quiet, like something vital had shut down to protect the rest from total collapse.

By the time I reached my dorm, my body felt numb, like it no longer belonged to me.

The door was unlocked.

That registered distantly, just a fraction of a second before voices reached