Chapter 40

Claire's POV When I woke up, Theo was already gone. The hotel suite felt eerily quiet without his presence, sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows and illuminating the elegant furnishings. I lay still for a moment, trying to piece together the fragments of memory from the night before. Had he really stayed with me? The memories flickered through my mind like scenes from a half-remembered movie—his gentle voice soothing my nightmares, the warmth of his hand in mine, moments that had made my heart race and my body burn with longing. But the more I tried to focus on the details, the hazier they became. Were they real? Or just fever dreams conjured by my deprived brain and wishful thinking? It was all so confusing. I could almost feel the ghost of his touch, the memory of his lips against mine, but when I tried to grasp the specifics, they slipped away like smoke. The fever had made everything feel surreal, dreamlike, and now in the harsh light of morning, I couldn't tell