Chapter 248

I watched the man walk away, standing in the cold wind that seemed to cut through me. Wrapping my thin shawl tighter, I continued walking, my heels clicking softly against the pavement. The streetlights flickered, casting an orange glow that stretched my shadow behind me, a lonely figure against the darkening night. It wasn't far to my place, and when I finally got home, I first kicked off the shoes that had been digging into my feet. My steps on the cashmere carpet were slow, my feet aching, leaving faint spots of blood that dotted the soft surface like tiny blossoms. I used alcohol and cotton swabs to clean the wound with an antiseptic solution. Gritting my teeth, I cleaned the wounds, biting back the sting before finally covering the worst of it with a bandage. My eyelids felt impossibly heavy. I couldn't fight the exhaustion any longer, and soon, I let my eyes drift shut. In my dream, I felt warmth—gentle and soothing, like the sun on a quiet afternoon. A soft, blurry figure