My body trembled violently as another wave of sobs wracked through me, each breath feeling like daggers slicing through my chest. The silk sheets beneath me grew damp with tears, sweat, and desperation. My throat, scorched from hours of screaming into pillows, felt as though I'd swallowed broken glass. I pressed my face deeper into the  cotton, trying to muffle the sound of my own despair echoing off the room's cold marble walls.