The small apartment was quiet, save for the faint hum of the city filtering through the half-drawn curtains. The afternoon light fell across the cluttered living room, illuminating a mess of empty coffee mugs, a stack of unpaid bills, and a couch where Aeri sat alone.
She wore her favorite blue mini dress, the one she always slipped into at home, its front knot pulling the fabric tight across her chest, her cleavage open visible as she slumped forward. Her phone lay on the coffee table in front of her, the screen glowing with a photo of her and Ezra—smiling wide, sharing a stick of pink cotton candy under a bright summer sky, their laughter frozen in time. The sight of it twisted her heart, tears pricking at her eyes as she stared.
