Chapter 99

Claire's POV The rest of the workday passed in a suffocating haze of isolation. Every time I entered a room, conversations would halt mid-sentence, creating pockets of uncomfortable silence that followed me like shadows. Colleagues who had previously offered friendly greetings now averted their eyes, suddenly finding their paperwork fascinating whenever I approached. The transformation was swift and complete. A colleague, who usually chatted about weekend plans while we waited for the coffee machine, now hurried away the moment he spotted me. Suki from accounting, who had complimented my research presentation just last week, practically fled when I tried to make eye contact in the hallway. It was the silence that hurt most. Not cruel words or confrontational accusations, but the absence of normal human interaction. The way conversations died when I entered the break room, how people suddenly remembered urgent tasks elsewhere when I sat down. The careful space others maintained around m