MELISSA'S POV

I didn’t realize how quiet the world could be until I stepped out of the police station that night.

The air outside felt colder than it should have been, and for a moment I just stood there, staring at nothing in particular. People were passing by, cars were moving along the road, life was still going on as if nothing had happened. But for me, everything had just collapsed in a matter of hours.

James had been taken away in handcuffs.

Our house was no longer ours.

And the life I had carefully built for myself… was slipping out of my hands.

I let out a slow breath...