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Burned in an instant.
A woman sitting and holding her head | Source: Midjourney
Slowly, I inhaled. Then, I stood up.
“Where?” I asked, my voice strangely calm.
"What?" Sophie asked, wiping her eyes.
“Where do you live, darling?” I asked.
“You… you want to go to my house?” she asked, speaking slowly.
A young woman sitting at a table | Source: Midjourney
“Yes,” I said, already grabbing my coat.
Ryan's face darkened.
"I'm coming with you," he said.
"Me too," Sophie said. "I'm so sorry."
And so we left.
The ride was surreal.
A woman driving a car | Source: Midjourney
Sophie sat in the passenger seat, giving me directions as we moved along, her hands constantly moving in her lap. Ryan was in the back, his knee bouncing restlessly.
My knuckles were white against the steering wheel.
When we arrived in front of the house, I felt like I was in another life.
It was a charming house. A cozy little place with a white picket fence and a warm porch light that shone in the twilight.
The exterior of a house | Source: Midjourney
Thomas had built his whole life here.
I turned off the engine. My breathing was slow and steady, but inside, I was a hurricane.
Sophie hesitated.
"Are you sure?"
I got out of the car.
“Oh, absolutely,” I said.
A pensive woman sitting in a car | Source: Midjourney
With every step toward the door, my pulse stabilized. Anger dissipated the shock, leaving only icy determination. I pressed the doorbell.
Footsteps.
