Chapter 108

Ava’s POV

The apartment felt like it was pressing in on me.

The walls, the shadows, even the candle I’d lit hours ago—all of it was suffocating, heavy with the aftertaste of what just happened.

Emily’s door shut down the hall, the faint click sealing the rift between us, and I stood frozen in the living room with my arms wrapped so tightly around myself I could barely breathe.

I should’ve felt vindicated.

She deserved every word I hurled at her. She betrayed me.

She betrayed herself but instead of feeling stronger, all I felt was hollow. Like I’d carved myself open just to bleed bitterness across the floor.

I needed air.

Grabbing my jacket from the hook by the door, I slipped outside into the night.

The cool wind slapped my cheeks, a cruel contrast to the heat still burning beneath my skin.

My steps carried me down the block, almost on autopilot, until the neon glow of a coffee shop sign broke through the darkness.