I waited for him to speak. For something—a word, a look, anything that would make sense of this devastation swelling inside me.
But he said nothing.
He only stood there, frozen, as though the choice had already been made and he was waiting for the rest of the world to accept it.
That was when my mother spoke. Her tone was lower now, but still sharp enough to cut through the silence.
“Selene,” she said gently but firmly, “go to your room. I’ll be there shortly.”
My room.
Like a child being dismissed.
Like someone whose heart hadn’t just been shattered into a thousand silent shards on the floor of her father’s study.
I nodded—because I was trained to.
Because obedience was my inheritance.
But even as I turned, something inside me gave way.
Something I hadn’t even realized was stil
