Chapter 79: Solitude in Shadows

Ashley’s POV

I had spent the rest of the day hiding out in Ashton’s bedroom, the walls echoing with memories that felt both comforting and suffocating. The soft hum of the house blended with the distant sounds of life below, reminding me that the world continued to turn outside this bedroom. Each time I considered going down for a meal, the knot in my stomach tightened, forcing me back into bed.

For once, I was thankful for the kind of home my sister had married into. If I didn’t venture downstairs, food would be brought to me. A small comfort, reinforcing my plan to avoid Andreas. Every moment with him felt like dancing on the edge of a cliff, and I was terrified of the fall—terrified of what it would mean to surrender to the feelings I wasn’t ready to face.

Curled up on Ashton’s bed, I inhaled the faint scent of her perfume lingering in the air—sweet, floral, and achingly familiar. It should have soothed me, but instead, it filled the room with a heavy sense of loss. I traced the so