Chapter 57

*BRIANNE’S POV*

I lay on my bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, my thoughts swirling like a storm I couldn’t control. Seeing Marcus again hit me harder than I ever imagined. It was as if the air had been sucked out of me when our eyes met. I had told myself I wouldn’t care if I saw him again, that I had moved on, but the knot in my stomach told me otherwise. My chest felt heavy, the weight of memories I thought I had buried now clawing their way to the surface.

I hadn’t left my room all day, the soft glow of the afternoon sun peeking through the curtains now beginning to fade as evening settled in. Every time I Closed my eyes, a familiar scent…yet distant, haunted me. It was like he was both there and not there, lingering in my mind as if to remind me of what we once were, of everything we never became. I shook my head, trying to get rid of this image, but it clung to me stubbornly.

I sat up, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. The room felt suffocating. My breaths were shallo