Chapter 88
I Wouldn't Let Them Have That
I left my father's study, the solid oak door clicking shut behind me. The envelope in my hand no longer felt like a secret or a burden; it felt like a mission, quiet, deliberate, almost sacred.
In the hallway, the familiar sounds of home wrapped around me. The low murmur of the television drifted in from the living room. From the kitchen came the clatter of dishes. Normal sounds. Ordinary life. A simple, fragile peace I had nearly forgotten how to breathe in.
I pulled my phone from my pocket. Its glow cut sharply through the gloom as I opened my messages, my thumb hovering over Dafa's name.
He needed to know I was leaving the city. Not as a report. As a courtesy. And perhaps if I was honest with myself, as a quiet test.
I typed carefully.
[Alayna: Dafa, I'l be leaving the city tomorrow morning. Back to the countryside for three days.]
