Chapter 95

OLIVIA Hearing Noah call me by that name again was like a dull bell ringing inside me, each heavy chime falling straight onto my chest. “So, you still remember me,” I whispered, my voice barely audible as I watched Noah drift into sleep, his breathing gradually evening out. Sleep never came for me. I stood up quietly, turned on the air conditioner in the living room, and returned with a blanket to cover him, tucking it around his shoulders with care. I hugged myself tightly as I sat on the carpet, my back resting against the sofa. The cold air brushed against my skin, but it was nothing compared to the chill settling in my chest. Every now and then, I could hear him calling my name in his drunken murmurs, soft and unguarded. “Olivia…” he called me. “Emma…” he murmured—the name I hadn’t heard in years, spoken so naturally, as if time had never passed. Apart from my grandmother—who still called me Emma from time to time as she slowly adjusted to my new name—I had hardly heard that name i