#Chapter 51: Eight Dresses

Kayla The sunlight streaming through the window gently washed across my cheek, nudging me awake. I cracked my eyes open and blinked, finding that my head felt surprisingly clear. No fever, no delirium, just an ache in my shoulder from sleeping. For the first time in what felt like days, my body wasn’t weighed down by illness. I stretched cautiously, half-expecting some lingering ache or weakness, but I felt surprisingly… better. The room was quiet, save for the faint crackle of the fire that had burned low overnight. The blanket tucked around me was heavier than I remembered, and there was no mistaking the faint scent clinging to it—Nicholas’s cologne. My cheeks warmed as I traced the events of the previous night, fragmented memories of him staying close, his hand in mine, his voice murmuring, “I’m not going anywhere.” But now, when I turned my head toward his side of the bed, he was gone. “Morning, sleepyhead!” Jade’s voice broke through my haze, a