The room lay cloaked in heavy stillness, broken only by the rhythmic ticking of the old clock on the far wall. I barely noticed it at first, its steady beat merging with the quiet hum of the world outside. Time stretched, warped into something distant and meaningless.
I hadn't moved from the bed. My clothes felt stiff and uncomfortable, clinging to my skin like a second, unwanted layer. My laptop and files still lay abandoned near the door, forgotten in the aftermath of the fight that played on an endless loop in my mind.
Gold digger.
His voice echoed again in my mind, words unsaid yet awfully present, sharp and unyielding, tearing through my fragile composure. I squeezed my eyes shut, pressing my fists against my temples as if that could block out the memory.
