CHAPTER 40

AMANDA MOFOKENG – CELE

A full day with her home, and she hasn't left her bed. She hasn't even bothered to fix the duvet twisted around her legs. Yesterday's clothes still lie on the floor next to the bed, the curtains are half-drawn, and the room smells faintly of lavender body butter mixed with the bitterness of dried tears. After last night? She is numb. Completely numb.

Amanda lies flat on her pillow, eyes burning, staring at nothing as her thoughts run circles around each other. She knows crying won't fix anything—she told herself that a thousand times, even as she sobbed into the pillow until her throat was sore—but the weight in her chest has only grown heavier. It feels like something is sitting on her heart. She curls deeper into the blankets just as her phone vibrates beside her.