Natalie~
The next morning dawned with a crispness that pierced through the palace windows, the sunlight filtering in like shards of hope after my tumultuous vision. My heart still raced from the encounter with Rayma, that enigmatic figure whose presence lingered in my mind like a shadow refusing to fade.
I couldn't shake the strange cocktail of emotions clawing at my chest—relief that Vincent was safe, and dread over the unanswered questions that followed. Safe… but with whom? And why? Those thoughts chased each other through my mind all night, keeping sleep far out of reach.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Katrina's tear-streaked face, trembling between fury and heartbreak. I heard Nicholas's silence—a silence so heavy it filled every corner of the room, louder than any cry could be. Our families were fraying, the threads holding us together thinning with every secret, every half-truth.
