The bedroom buzzed with quiet activity. The muffled sound of footsteps and clinking dishes seeped through the canopy curtains, mingling with the faint scent of food lingering in the air.
Liliette stirred, her eyes fluttering open as the soft noises reached her ears. The bedding beneath her felt impossibly soft, as if she were cocooned in fluffy clouds. The sheets carried the comforting scent of fresh linen dried under a warm sun.
Her body felt pleasantly languid, refreshed from a deep, dreamless sleep, but a strange sense of emptiness still lingered. Her gaze fell on the vacant space beside her, pristine and untouched like a snowfield. The sight felt disheartening, a familiar pang that never seemed to dull. She had never minded an empty bed in her previous marriage, so why did Vlad’s absence feel so acute?
