The day was already slipping away, the sky outside the tall windows darkening by the minute.
Soft shades of blue melted into gray, then into a quiet, heavy black, as though night itself was slowly pressing against the mansion.
The room felt larger in the absence of sound too quiet, too still.
Alone, Julie sat on the edge of the bed and turned her head toward the bedside drawer.
Her phone lay there, screen dark, unmoving. For a moment, she simply stared at it.
Then her hand stretched forward, fingers hovering just inches above the smooth surface but she stopped midway. Slowly, almost reluctantly, she pulled her hand back, curling it into her lap.
Her gaze drifted from the phone to the rumpled sheets, then to the empty space beside her where Roman should have been. A soft sigh escaped her lips, heavy with longing.
