Chapter 144 The Seamstress And The Stranger

• [KARA/RUELLE]
• The wooden door of the cottage room creaks shut behind Alec, and I stand there for a moment, listening to his footsteps crunch over the frost-laced dirt path. I don’t move until the sound fades completely—until I’m sure he’s gone far enough that he won’t turn back and catch the way I sag against the wooden frame.
• It’s always like this in the morning. I feel a little empty on the inside every time he leaves.