Chapter 654: The Burden Beneath Memory
Time passed, but neither of them measured it properly.
Maybe seconds, maybe longer. It didn't matter because Orion didn't let her go.
Sophia stayed pressed against him, her face buried in his chest as the last of her sobs slowly drained out of her. Her body still trembled now and then, like the grief hadn't fully left her, like it had only retreated far enough to breathe.
He didn't loosen his hold.
Not at first.
Even when her breathing began to even out, even when the sharp edges of her crying softened into broken sniffles, he stayed right there with her, steady and unmoving, as if letting go would undo something fragile inside her.
Only when her body finally stopped shaking did he ease back slightly.
Just enough to look at her.
His hand lifted carefully, brushing the damp strands of hair from her face, wiping the traces of tears away with a gentleness that didn't match how rough the world had been with them both.
