Chapter 693

Serena soaked in the Jacuzzi tub resplendent with oils and fragrances. The heat from the water and the pulse from the jets served to batter away at the threads of anxiety and grief. She knew it wouldn’t take them away forever, and tears threatened to expose themselves. When she decided that to hold them back would be worse than having a good cry, she let them flow.

My brother is dead.

She would never have the chance to hug, laugh, scold, or tease him ever again. With every tear that mixed with the bath water, she said a prayer that he would rest in peace and be in a happier place.

She ducked under the water as if to cleanse herself spiritually. As her head broke the surface, she took a breath, like the first a newborn baby takes in. It was a new world for her. A solitary one. And she decided to make the best of it.

Resting against the back of the tub, she looked around at the bathroom for the first time and thought it a shame it had no windows. But