Carefully, she folded the document and slipped it into her pocket as though it were something precious.

She didn’t say the words aloud, but they echoed in her mind.

This is the last thing I’ll ever ask of you.

That signature wasn’t an apology.

It was her release.

---

The next morning, Adriana rose before dawn.

The letter was still in her coat pocket, and for the first time in weeks, she felt something close to lightness.

She dressed quietly and stepped outside toward Nathanie’s car, intending to take her usual place in the passenger seat.

The window rolled down.

Olivia’s face appeared instead, bright and smiling.

“Adriana, sorry,” Olivia said sweetly. “I get motion sickness if I sit in the back. I have to take the front seat.”

Her tone was innocent. Almost playful.

Adriana paused.

She knew for a fact Olivia had never had issues riding in the back. They had traveled together many times before.

If anyone had struggled with motion sickness, it had always been Adriana.

That was why she typically sat in front.

But today, Olivia occupied that seat effortlessly, as though it had always belonged to her.

As though she had every right to claim it.

Ever since Olivia began riding with them, the front passenger seat had quietly changed owners.

It was no longer Adriana’s.

She stood beside the car door, fingers still resting on the handle, when Nathanie’s voice cut through the still morning air.

“Are you getting in or not?” he said impatiently. “If you’re not coming, then take a cab. Don’t waste time.”

The words were blunt, stripped of any warmth.

Adriana slowly released the handle.

She stepped back from the car.

“You two go ahead,” she said evenly. “I just remembered I left something inside.”

Without waiting for a reply, she turned and walked toward the manor, her movements steady despite the tightness in her chest.

Only when the engine of the Audi A8 roared to life and faded into the distance did she stop.

The parking courtyard was empty now. Dust hung faintly in the air.

Two tears slipped down her face before she could stop them.

This was the first time since joining the territory infirmary that she would be late.

---

When she finally arrived at work, several colleagues looked up in surprise.

“Adriana, how’s your ankle? Why are you here already?”

“Did Alpha Reed make you come back so soon? He could’ve let you rest.”

Their concern was sincere.