Chapter 4 — A Life Rebuilt

Maisie

The sunlight filtered through the lace curtains of Maisie’s modest apartment, dappling the scuffed wooden floor with delicate patterns. A faint breeze carried the scent of lavender from the diffuser on the desk, mingling with the rich aroma of fresh coffee steaming in a chipped mug beside her laptop. Maisie’s fingers hovered over the keyboard, the cursor blinking insistently on a blank document. She sighed, her thoughts tangled, the sound of Hope’s laughter drifting in from the other room pulling her from the task at hand.