Liana's POV
The morning started too quiet. The kind of quiet that was palpable, like something was holding its breath. It was not peaceful, but tensed. Even the birdsong during the morning felt reluctant and distant. The atmosphere hummed with the kind of tension that got lodged into your skin and refused to budge.
I stood in the kitchen barefoot, wrapping my hands around a steaming mug of tea that had long since grown cold. I wasn't drinking it, I just needed something to hold onto. Something to keep me grounded. My gaze was on the window, where smears of grey clouds filled the sky, dulling the street to a metallic colour.
Cam was still asleep. Her quiet breathing floated out of her bedroom down the hallway, unshaken and light. It was strange, but comforting, unaffected by the chaos of
