The drive back to Blue Ridge County felt longer than usual.

Talia sat in silence the entire way, her heart a war zone of betrayal, pain, and the ache of leaving without a proper goodbye. She didn’t even know what she hoped to find at home—just that she needed space, peace, something that wasn’t Damon or Lily.

When the cab finally stopped in front of her family home, the sky was already dusky, painted in shades of fading gold and lavender. She stepped out, pulled her bag from the backseat, and stared at the quiet house. It looked the same… yet different. Like a ghost of simpler times.

She walked...