Chapter 86 Angel’s Heart
Alina stayed at the same cheap hotel that night, the dress bag and stationery bundle placed carefully on the little chair by the window. But even with the light off and the blanket pulled up to her chin, sleep refused to come.
Her head pounded, a dull ache that settled behind her eyes and wouldn’t go away. She turned on her side, then again. The thin pillow felt too hard, the blanket too itchy. Her heart wouldn’t stop racing with old thoughts... the boutique girl’s smirk, Celeste’s cruel voice, Riccardo’s eyes, her mother’s pale hand...
She stared at the ceiling in silence.
It felt like the nights from before — when she had no job, no purpose, and everything felt uncertain. When the weight of the world sat on her chest and wouldn’t move.
She didn’t know when she finally dozed off, but it was restless and short. Before the sun even rose, she was already awake.
By six, she had checked out, clutching her bags in both hands as she walked through the quiet town, fog still curling in the morning air.
She reached the edge of Black Leaf Forest just as the sun peeked out behind the hills, golden light spilling between the trees. It was strange — the forest used to scare her... but now, driving back through it felt like returning to something warm.
Soon she reached the little house that had been given to her on kindergarten. The moment she stepped inside, something loosened in her chest. The silence was soft here, not heavy. The air felt clean.
She dropped her bags gently near the old wooden chair and slipped off her shoes.
Without thinking, she walked straight to the tiny bathroom and turned on the hot water. Steam rose quickly. As the warm spray hit her skin, she closed her eyes, her forehead resting against the cool tile.