Chapter 84

REESE

I couldn’t sleep a wink. No matter how much I tossed and turned, I couldn’t escape the thoughts of Valeria that clawed at my mind. Her face, her scent, the way her eyes could cut me down to nothing—it was all I could think about.

She had walked past me in the hallway as if I were invisible; her eyes fixed forward like I wasn’t even there. I had waited there on purpose, hoping she’d notice me, hoping we could talk, but she didn’t even spare me a glance. My chest tightened with the sting of rejection—a hurt so deep it felt like it was burrowing into my bones.

“Valeria—” I tried to call out to get her to look at me, but she cut me off with a curt as she muttered, “Goodnight,” brushing past me, her arm barely grazing mine, and I felt a spark of warmth in that brief contact.

She slammed the bedroom door shut without a second thought. The sound of her door shutting echoed in the hallway.

I just stood there like an idiot, staring at that closed door, my hand itching to knock, but I hes