DARIAN

The cabin door slams behind me, and for a moment, the night air cuts through my chest sharper than any blade.

I don’t go far. Just a few steps off the porch, where the cold settles into my bones and the silence presses in from all sides. Trees loom tall and black around the clearing, and the stars hang overhead like distant, untouchable gods.

She hates me.

And worse, she has every reason to.

I drag a hand over my face, letting out a slow, steadying breath. My jaw aches from how tight I’ve been clenching it. My hands? Still trembling, even now.

Her voice, shouting, cracking, breaking, is...