*ADELINE*
The silence in the SUV was suffocating, wrapping around me like a heavy, damp blanket. The city blazed outside, the neon lights blurring into colorful smears as we drove past. But all that brightness felt distant, almost mocking. I was trapped in a bubble of tension with Vincenzo, and it only tightened with each passing moment. Every glance towards him felt like a gamble; the sharp edge of anger in his eyes was disarming. I wanted to say something—anything—, but the weight of his cold shoulder made the words evaporate before they could escape my lips.
I sat there, clutching the small, ornate box that housed the Sapphire of Vanesse, as if it were a lifeline. The gem was beautiful, mesmerizing even, but it now felt like an anchor, dragging me down into the depths of my mistakes.
