Chapter 199. Hello, You

Anna stared at the small broken pieces of the SIM card in her palm, the tiny shards scattered across her hand like the remnants of the life she had been clinging to. 

It felt like an odd kind of liberation, cutting the connection to the people who had once played such a central role in her world. But now, it was necessary. It was part of the reset she needed.

She tossed the broken pieces into the trash, letting them fall into the dark bag like a final goodbye.

There was a strange sense of peace that settled over her after she did it. The buzzing of her phone, the constant messages from Carlos, and the temptation to call or text Zac had been like a hum in the background of her mind. 

Anna glanced at the bedroom window. The night was deepening, the streetlights outside casting shadows across her walls. Her apartment felt quieter now, emptier, but in a way that gave her space. Space to just be.

She let her body fall onto the bed, sinking into the soft m