Page 148 of Bound By Crimson
“I’ll see you soon.”
And then he was gone.
She stood there for a moment, unsure what to do with her hands.
Then slowly, she sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the space where the suitcase had been.
The imprint it left behind looked like something missing.
She didn’t cry.
Not yet.
Not in here.
She didn’t think to grab her phone from her room. Besides—there was no one she could talk to. Not yet. If she opened her mouth, the grief might spill out before she could contain it.
Instead, she moved on instinct—grabbing her sweater, slipping on shoes, and stepping quietly down the hallway.
Down the grand staircase.
Past the rooms that echoed with someone else’s power.
Past the kitchen doors.
Out through the garden doors.
The air was cool against her skin, the sky low and grey, like it was holding back its own emotions.
She crossed through the garden quickly, not stopping to breathe in the roses or admire the neat rows of hedges.
Not today.
She didn’t stop until she reached the stone bench tucked behind the creeping vines.
The wall stood tall before her—ancient, cracked in places, wildflowers growing between the stones.
It looked like something out of a fairytale.
Or a prison.
She sat down slowly, hands clasped in her lap, stomach tight beneath her palm.
The breeze whispered.
She thought of the note.
The handwriting.
The softness of it.
The suggestion curled inside those few words.
She thought of how Kai kissed her.
Not like a man afraid to leave something he loved.
But like someone closing a door gently.
