Ciara's POV
The past few days had been a whirlwind of adjustments. I found myself in a small apartment that my new boss had given me, tucked away in a quiet neighborhood, far from the chaos I had left behind. The air felt different here—lighter, as though the weight of everything I had endured had started to lift. The walls of the apartment were bare, and the furniture was sparse, but it was mine. I could breathe here.
After I left Dante's mansion that night, everything felt like a blur. I had wandered the streets aimlessly until the morning light broke through the horizon. I didn't know where I was going, only that I couldn't go back. I found a finance office hiring for an entry-level position the next day—lucky, I suppose. Or maybe it was fate. Finance wasn't my passion, but I had studied it in school, and it seemed like the best option for someone who needed stability, especially with babies on the way.