Elle’s POV
After Ethan left, I stood in the middle of the room for a long time, not moving. The silence felt heavy, like it was pressing down on me. I wrapped my arms around myself and glanced around the room again. It was too clean, too cold, too neat for someone like me. I didn’t belong here. Everything smelled like him. Like pinewood, smoke, and something dark I couldn’t name.
Eventually, I dragged myself toward the bathroom. My body ached from everything I’d been through—the bruises, the exhaustion, the fear. I felt like I’d been carrying the weight of the world on my back.
The bathroom was surprisingly nice. White tiles, glass shower, silver fixtures. I stared at myself in the mirror for a moment. My reflection looked like a stranger. My hair was a tangled mess, there was dried blo
