Vivian's POV
The morning light streaming through the curtains was the first thing I noticed when consciousness pulled me from sleep. My hand automatically reached across the mattress, searching for warmth that wasn't there.
The sheets beside me were ice cold.
I rolled over completely, staring at the perfectly made side of the bed where Liam should have been. The pillows were still fluffed, the blanket tucked with military precision.
He had left me here alone.
After everything that happened last night, after the belt and the punishment and his promise that we would share this bed, he had simply walked away.
My chest tightened as the rejection settled in like a stone dropping into still water. Maybe seeing me submit so willingly to save someone as worthless as Ryan had disgusted him. Maybe he realized he couldn't stand to be in the same space as me.
