The silence after the countdown didn’t feel empty. It felt staged. Like the world had hit pause just to watch them decide. Every rooftop, every street, every person holding their breath was waiting for two people to say one word.
Bella kept her gun lowered, but her finger stayed tight on the trigger. She didn’t trust the quiet. Quiet before always meant something was about to go wrong.
Leo finally broke it. “So this is it.”
Bella frowned. “What is?”
“Whatever happens next starts with what we say,” he said, eyes on the frozen projection. “It starts with us.”
She scoffed. “You make it sound like a wedding vow.”
The smallest shift crossed his face. Not amusement. Recognition. Like he’d thought the same thing and hated it too.
The man in the coat stepped forward. “Declaration is require
