Chapter 77

Emily’s POV

Sleep didn’t come easily.

Even after I placed my phone face down on the nightstand and whispered “goodnight” to Alex, my mind refused to rest.

His words replayed in my head like a song on repeat, each one pushing against the threads of my thoughts until the silence of my apartment felt too loud, too heavy.

I turned on my side, pulling the blanket up around my shoulders.

My cat, Luna, was curled at my feet, her steady purr the only real comfort but even she couldn’t keep me from remembering the sharp twist in my chest when Alex asked if books felt “safer” than him.

He hadn’t meant it lightly, I could tell and I hadn’t answered lightly either.

Safer.

Yes, books were safer. Stories never hurt you. They ended where they were supposed to. Characters didn’t betray you with broken promises or cold silences.

Pages didn’t leave scars but Alex?

He was the opposite of safe.

He was chaos wrapped in control, tem