[: 3rd POV :]
Maiya's trembling hand lingered on the handle of the door.
Her heartbeat was deafening, echoing through the emptiness of her chest.
Her palms were slick with sweat, and every breath came in a shudder.
'He's back… He's truly back…'
She wanted to smile, to feel joy at those words, but all she felt was a suffocating dread.
A fear carved from guilt, from years of regret that rotted quietly in her soul.
'What right do I have to face him… after what happened?'
Her chest tightened painfully.
The very thought of meeting Daniel, the boy she had sworn to protect, the one she had failed, made her knees weak.
She had imagined this meeting countless times of how he'd look at her, how she'd explain herself, how she'd beg for forgiveness.
But no matter how many times she rehearsed, the words never felt right.
Nothing could ever make up for what she allowed to happen.
"I… I can't do this,"
She whispered, pressing her trembling hand to her chest.
