Mira could no longer find the silence in the library peaceful. It was now thick with the ghost of the scream she'd heard.
She forced her eyes onto the marriage contract, but the words were just black squiggles on a page.
Her mind was screaming one word on a loop: Run. Run run run run run…
But her legs felt like liquid.
If she stood, she would collapse. If she tried to walk, she would stumble right into him waiting outside the door.
Because what if he was out there right now? What if he was standing in the hallway, wiping that blood off his hands, waiting to see if she would be stupid enough to try and bump into him?
So she sat.
And she pretended to read.
She turned a page, while trying so hard to ignore the rustle in the quiet.
