

Chapter 7 - What We Hide
Aubrey wakes up in Noah's bed for the first time. The rain is gone. The world feels soft. He makes her coffee. They eat on the floor. Laugh like there's no weight between them. For a moment, it feels like something real.
But while Noah showers, she opens the wrong drawer.
She finds a box.
Inside: a photo of him and Cora. A hospital bracelet. A letter she doesn’t read.
And a message scrawled in black ink:
DON'T LET HER IN.
It's not just about the past—it's about her.
Aubrey leaves without a fight. No yelling. No drama. Just silence.
She doesn't cry in front of him.
She waits until the elevator doors close.
Because the worst part isn't that he's still broken.
It's that he's not letting her try to help him heal.
