Chapter 14

Chapter 14 Liora began writing not because she wanted to remember. She wrote because the memories began to come on their own, without permission, without warning. Every night after Nolan fell asleep, her body was tired but her mind was awake. Something urgent stirred inside her, like an old wound that finally refused to stay closed. The notebook was messy. Its pages were filled with scribbles that collided with each other. There were no sequential dates. Sometimes there was only one sentence, sometimes one word repeated over and over until the ink almost penetrated the paper. run breath blood All traces always ended with one big name. Vale. Not as an individual. Not as a person, but as a shadow that always lurked behind every worst decision in his life. His hand stopped as he unconsciously wrote the full name. Not Adrian. Not Serena. That name made his chest feel tight. He closed the notebook slowly, as if afraid the writing inside could speak too loudly. It wasn't time yet. --- Adrian