Delilah's Pov

The garden was quiet again. The kind of quiet that hummed under my skin, like the world was holding its breath.

The breeze swept through the roses, bending their necks just slightly, and I found myself tracing the rim of a petal with my fingertip, wondering when everything in my life had become this complicated.

Verret had been trying so hard to make me happy these days. He smiled more, spoke softly, and even laughed sometimes, though his laughter always sounded like a secret he didn't want to share. And somehow, against my will, I had started laughing with him.

But deep inside, something was still broken.

I...