For hours, Beatrix laid there, fixated on the wall before her. Her eyes burned, exhausted from the sleep her body desperately craved but couldn't find, and from the tears she had fought back throughout the night. She had shed enough tears in the past few weeks, and she was resolute in her determination not to succumb to them again.
The situation she found herself in felt like a form of cruel and inhumane torment, particularly because she knew Rhys,was just in the adjacent room. Her heart ached to be close to him, yet her rational mind scolded her for entertaining such impractical longings. It was a unique kind of suffering altogether.
Just as she was on the verge of drifting off to sleep, a sudden sound jolted her awake. Beatrix frowned when she heard it again, it sounded like someone was knocking on her door.
