The next morning Angela woke to the sound of birds chirping faintly outside her window. Sunlight streamed through the thin curtains of her hostel bedroom, casting warm, golden streaks across the modest room. She blinked, her body still heavy with sleep, and shifted slightly.
For a moment, she lay still, her body wrapped in a cocoon of warmth beneath her blanket. Her mind stirred with fragmented memories of the night before Edmund's touch, his whispered promises, the electric connection that had consumed them both. The ache in her muscles was a stark reminder of the night before.
The memory of Edmund's touch lingered, vivid and electric. The warmth of his embrace, the way their bodies had moved together, it all felt so real. She reached out, half-expecting to find him beside her. But her hand landed on the cold, empty mattress.