The bonfire blazed fiercely within its ring of stones, devouring the pile of dried wood and branches. It crackled and spat, emitting sparks into the night air as waves of heat spread into the cool surroundings.
The late summer wind brushed against her face with a lingering chill, but the warmth of the fire held it at bay.
Crouched alone before the flames, Anna's shoulders trembled as quiet, fragile sobs escaped her lips. She had lost count of how many times she had cried, her heart still raw from the bitter altercation.
In a single day, Kyren had carved wounds deep within her.
His fierce expression and his raised voice lingered vividly in her mind, echoing in her ears long after the quarrel had ended.
The man she saw today felt like a stranger.
He was no longer the gentle husband who held her in his sleep… nor the man who had taken her hand to the marigold field and kissed her beneath the elm tree.
Under the vast canopy of stars, she could only sit and weep in silence.
