CHAPTER 168
KATYA POV
The second floor was a blur of shadows and sharp corners. Every step I took was a battle against gravity.
My back was a sheet of fire, the bandages shifting and pulling at the raw gashes with every movement of my shoulders.
I had wiped my eyes so many times that the skin around them felt bruised and raw, but the tears kept coming.
Not from sadness anymore, but from the sheer, agonizing strain of keeping my body upright. I didn't want them to see.
I didn't want Gina to have a story to tell, and I certainly didn't want Marina to see the salt on my cheeks.
But my body was betrayed by the very pain Romeo had allowed to be inflicted on me. "Hurry up," Gina hissed, her heels clicking a sharp, impatient rhythm on the hardwood.
She didn't look back to see me swaying, my hand trembling as it skimmed the walls for balance.
