บท 107: CHAPTER 107: Pent Up Emotions

　　The entire drive back home was a suffocating silence, punctuated only by the occasional sniffle escaping my lips. Even the rhythmic whoosh of the rain that had just started to drizzle against the car windows seemed muted, a dull roar in the face of the emotional storm brewing inside me. Julian, bless his kind heart, kept glancing at me through the rearview mirror, his brow furrowed with concern. But what could I say? How could I explain the tangled mess of emotions churning in my gut – the shame, the guilt, the dawning horror of the truth I had just learned?

　　Finally, the familiar outline of my apartment building emerged and relief washed over me, a fleeting sensation quickly replaced by a new wave of apprehension. Stepping out of the car would mean facing reality alone in my room, and right now, reality felt like a monster waiting to devour me whole.