The words fell softly, yet heavily.
Valerie swallowed in silence.
Her eyes remained closed. Her face stayed calm. But inside her, something finally hardened completely. Not from anger. Not from sadness.
But from resolve.
She did not move as Demian continued to hold her. She did not pull away. Did not return the embrace. She let the night pass just like that without sound, without tears, without resistance.
Because in the end, her silence was no longer a sign of pain.
Her silence was the sign that she had stopped hoping.
Morning arrived without a sound.
Valerie opened her eyes slowly, still in the same position as the night before. Morning light slipped through the curtains, falling softly across the bedroom floor. The air was warm and that scent immediately reached her senses.
Demian's scent.
Clean, sharp, familiar. Too familiar.
She turned her head slightly.
