Charles's POV
The days without Sandy dragged like years spent walking through fire. Sleep became impossible. Food turned to ash in my mouth. Every basic function felt foreign, as if my body had forgotten how to exist without her presence.
This wasn't supposed to happen. She was meant to be a distraction, a temporary fix for the emptiness that had consumed my life. A small comfort to make the darkness bearable.
Instead, she became everything. Not just a part of my world, but the very foundation it stood on. The realization terrified me, but denying it was pointless. Without her, nothing held meaning anymore.
The knowledge that they had taken her from my own home while I was away handling her situation burned through me like acid. Every moment she remained missing felt like another piece of my sanity cracking away.
Where was she now? Was fear keeping her awake at night? Did anger fuel her thoughts of me? Or had despair already settled into her bones?
