Chapter 115

VIV’S POV A low hum buzzed overhead, like the whisper of faulty lights or the presence of something just beyond comprehension. My eyelids fluttered open, heavy and slow, like they were coated in molasses. My head ached, dull and pounding, the kind of pain that came from something chemical. Not sleep. Not exhaustion. No, this was induced. I tried to sit up, but the cold, hard surface beneath me made the process difficult. Hard bed. It was an iron bed with a very little mattress underneath it. I took my hands to inspect my baby and sighed in relief when I felt the round bulge. Where the hell was I? I turned my head slowly, blinking at the dim ceiling light above. Everything felt like a memory just out of reach. Flashes came in bursts. Me slipping through the back of the hotel, pressing the elevator button repeatedly like a madwoman, praying I could vanish before anyone saw me. Then... women. Hands. Voices. And nothing. Just as I pushed up on my elbows, about to make sense of my surroundi