Chapter 170

The house was eerily quiet as Ryan sat in the sunlit living room. The rays filtered through the curtains, but their warmth did little to lift the fog that clouded his mind.

He ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated. It had been weeks of the same routine. Bella left early for the office, and he was confined to the house.

The walls seemed to close in on him more and more each day. "Rest," she kept saying. "You need to rest and fully heal."But he felt fine. His body was stronger. His mind? That was another story.

He couldn't shake the flashes, those brief moments of clarity when another version of his life danced before his eyes, only to vanish like smoke.

His thoughts were interrupted by the creak of the front door. Bella stepped inside, dressed immaculately as always, her high heels clicking against the marble floor.

She smiled when she saw him, but there was something behind her eyes. Something he couldn’t quite place." Ryan, love," she called, setting her bag on the counte