Despite her efforts to numb the ache into slumber, Selina couldn't close her eyes. Restless, she stared at her phone—she had lost count of how long—typing and erasing words that refused to feel right.
Her finger lingered above Clarissa's number, her mind conjuring images of her sister—was she scattering her belongings in anger, crying uncontrollably, or quietly enduring the pain the same way Selina was now?
Opening the message app, Selina typed with trembling fingers, each word carved from desperation:
I'm sorry, sister. I never meant to get involved with Zane, but I can't leave—not yet. If I did, Father's life would be in danger.
The sight of those words froze her. Her chest tightened, her whole body stiff as if even her soul recoiled from the chaos that truth would unleash. Helpless, she deleted the message, forcing herself to write something safer instead.
