The twins decided to leave me alone with Adrineh to give me some time to myself, but the moment the door clicked shut behind them, my carefully constructed composure cracked. My hands trembled in my lap, fingers twisting the fabric of my dress into knots.
Adrineh didn’t say anything at first. She just sat beside me on the bed, close enough that our shoulders brushed, and waited. The silence wasn’t suffocating—it was patient, like she already knew words wouldn’t fix this.
I swallowed hard, staring at the far wall. "I keep waiting to wake up," I whispered. "Like this is some nightmare, and any second now, I’ll open my eyes and feel them moving inside me again."
Adrineh exhaled slowly, her golden eyes dark with sorrow. "It doesn’t feel real, does it?"
A broken laugh escaped me. "No. And y
