The sun had risen high, relentless and bright, casting long, hard shadows across the Temple Courtyard. The air, which had once hummed with anticipation, now felt heavy, thick with an aching kind of silence that seemed to linger after something profound had happened. It was the kind of quiet that settled in after a storm—still, unsettling, and full of unanswered questions.
Xander Stone remained kneeling in the center of the courtyard, his body rigid, but with a slump in his shoulders that spoke of defeat. His proud head, usually so full of authority, was bowed low. The question he had so desperately asked—Will you be mine?—hung unanswered in the air. The silence left behind wasn’t filled with a hopeful ‘yes’ but with an overwhelming absence. Aria’s back, as she turned to leave, was the las
