The morning broke with a hazy gray light filtering through the heavy curtains of Edmund's bedroom. Angela stirred in the early morning light, the crisp sheets tangled around her body. She blinked at the unfamiliar ceiling, her mind foggy from the storm of emotions and revelations that had consumed her. The warmth beside her made her heart lurch. Edmund. The events of the night crashed into her like a tidal wave, making her stomach churn with a mixture of guilt and desire.
His arm was draped over her waist, his breathing even and calm. For a moment, she lay still, letting the quiet hum of his breathing lull her into a false sense of calm. But reality clawed its way back too quickly, and with it, the weight of his words from the night before. This wasn't a fairytale, it was a labyrinth of lies and danger, and she was smack in the middle of it.