Chapter 371

The morning came earlier than Riyana expected. Her eyes opened slowly, not because she was rested, but because sleep had quietly abandoned her hours ago. The room was still dim, early light just beginning to slip through the curtains in thin pale lines. Everything was quiet. Too quiet. Jabco was still asleep beside her. She lay still for a moment, listening to his breathing. Slow and even. The kind of calm breathing that only came when someone’s mind was finally resting. She envied that. Her own chest felt tight, heavy, as if she had been carrying something all night without realizing it. She had not slept properly. Stress had sat on her chest like a weight, pressing down no matter how she shifted. Every time she closed her eyes, her thoughts pulled her back awake. Too many things. Too many worries. Too many questions she had no answers to. Her head throbbed faintly, a dull pain spreading behind her eyes. She lifted a hand and pressed her fingers to her temple, trying to ease it, but i