C50 THE WEIGHT OF SILENCE AND LONELINESS

I woke up to an empty bed. The sheets beside me were cool but rumpled, a silent reminder that Lysander had already left. For a moment, I just lay there, listening to the thick silence of the room, broken only by the distant hum of traffic far below. It felt wrong, waking up alone in this strange place.

With a frustrated flick, I pushed off the soft blankets. My bare feet touched the cold