Chapter 28 A Little Sniff

• I slouched deeper into the couch, scrolling aimlessly through my phone. The internet was a minefield of curated perfection—smiling couples, travel vlogs, and those insufferable motivational quotes about "living your best life." It made my current situation feel even more pathetic. Mr. Thorne had been colder than a midwinter frost ever since the Storm incident. No shared plans, no casual chats, not even a polite nod in passing. It was like all the progress we had made had been wiped clean, leaving us back at square one, strangers all over again.
• I let out a long, frustrated sigh and tossed my phone aside. It landed on the cushion with a dull thud, the sound seeming louder than it should in the suffocating silence of the suite. I stared at the ceiling, my thoughts a chaotic mess. If this was how the next two years of our arrangement were going to play out—filled with awkward silences, unspoken tension, and me pretending I wasn’t unraveling—I was sure I would lose my mind.
• The doorbell rang suddenly, cutting through my thoughts. I perked up. Room service had already come earlier, so who could it be? Pushing myself off the couch, I padded to the door and opened it cautiously.