---- premonition that something was going to happen. She flew home at once, hoping that Timothy would come home to her and bring her the ring. However, she waited until it was dark out and the stars hung brightly in the sky, and yet, Timothy never showed up. She wasn't able to stop herself from calling him. The call was picked up at once, and this time, it was Timothy himself, not Lacey, who answered the call. Madeline felt her anxiety die down just a little. However, there was the sound of loud gasping and panting right afterward. She was an adult, and it was impossible for her not to know what was going on at the other end of the line. "Timothy?" Madeline called out his name with bated breath. The line went silent for a few seconds. But Timothy's voice appeared once more, low, scratchy, and sultry. ---- "Maddie, you'll have to go to sleep by yourself tonight. I'll try to get back as early as possible tomorrow." He hung up right after that. Madeline took deep, deliberate breaths, forcing her palpitating heart to slow down and trying her best to remain calm. However, as soon as she got her phone, she saw that Lacey's recent Twitter post from two hours ago was trending. Lacey had posted a selfie, showing a man on his knees, carefully applying ointment onto her wound. Even though the man's silhouette was blurry in the photo, Madeline could still feel the pain in her chest intensify. Even more so when she caught sight of the ring on Lacey's left hand, which looked like she'd tried but failed to hide on camera. Madeline shuddered. The ring Timothy had promised her had now ---- appeared on Lacey's finger. Before she could even make sense of that, her body beat her to it as tears welled up in her eyes and began dripping down. Lacey had captioned the photo, "You are my safe space." Had this been in the past, Madeline would have immediately felt jealous, burst into tears, and called Timothy on the spot to demand an explanation. But now, Madeline's heart was still. She didn't make a fuss. From the looks of it, she guessed that Timothy had never made room for her in his heart in the first place. Everything he promised her was just perfunctory. Madeline turned off her phone, going to bed feeling exhausted all over.