The moment Abigail stepped past the heavy iron gates of Kai’s estate, it felt as though the world shifted beneath her feet. The air that rushed into her lungs was sharp, startlingly fresh, and she realized with a jolt that she had been holding her breath for far too long.
Her chest rose and fell in a shaky exhale, one so deep it nearly doubled her over. It was as if she had been pulled out from under the weight of earth itself freed from a grave she hadn’t known she’d been buried in. For the first time in a long while, the air tasted like her own.
Her lips curved into a faint, trembling smile. She felt relieved and peaceful, peace that came from knowing she had finally done what she should have done long ago.
She turned back once, not at the house itself but at the gates. Then she let h
