Chapter 76

‘What time is it already?’

‘I didn’t really care.’

‘Is it morning or night?’

‘Again, I didn’t care.’

How many days have passed since Xander left me?

I simply didn’t know.

“Aurora, please eat.” Grandma’s voice, though close, seemed to drift from a distant world. “Open your mouth.”

I mechanically opened my mouth, allowing her to feed me. As the food touched my tongue, a flood of memories crashed over me. Xander’s death – my fault. I had killed Xander, the one who loved me. And like a wave retreating from the shore, my stomach rebelled, and I threw up again.

“Aurora, you cannot be like this; it’s been a month. You barely eat anything, you’ve become so thin.” Grandma’s words were laced with worry. I had been hiding in my room for what felt like eternity, shunning the outside world, yearning only for Xander. Tears began to form in my eyes, unbidden.

“Please don’t cry again; you cry almost every day.” Grandma protested softly, her voice a mix of concern and despair.

How had I never