CHAPTER 160
KATYA POV
The sunlight was an insult. It streamed through the heavy drapes of my window, harsh and cold, hitting my face and forcing me awake.
The room was no longer dark, silent, and safe, it was morning, and the world had moved on, pretending last night never happened.
I blinked, my eyelids gritty, disoriented for a moment. I wasn't tucked into my nightshirt. I was still wearing the sunflower sundress, now crumpled and stiff.
I hadn't changed. I hadn't even made it under the covers. I must have fallen onto the mattress the moment I locked the door, letting the exhaustion of the night win out.
I had slept away the fear, the pain, the shame.
But the moment consciousness returned, the memories rushed back like a slap to the face.
My cheek throbbed—a dull, unmistakable ache. I reached up, my fingers finding the tender skin where Marina had struck me.
My arm burned faintly where she had gripped me same as my scalp. The frantic plea for Romeo to believe her lies.
