CHAPTER 101 The Morning After

　　The morning light crept hesitantly through the curtains of the bedroom, spilling onto the polished wooden floors in streaks of gold and shadow. Outside, the garden buzzed with life, the occasional chirp of a bird, the distant hum of lawnmowers, and the soft rustling of wind in the treetops.

　　Angela awoke to the soft glow of dawn spilling through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Edmund's penthouse. For a moment, she lay still, her body curled beneath the expensive linen sheets, unwilling to disrupt the tranquility.

　　Beside her, Edmund slept, his bare chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. The sharp angles of his face were softened in slumber, his usual aura of control replaced with vulnerability. Angela watched him, her heart conflicted. In the silence, the weight of their choices settled over her.