Chapter 52: The Price of Silence
POV: Damian
The apartment had never been this quiet.
A place once filled with laughter, arguments over cleaning schedules, and Mrs. Alvarez's unsolicited baking advice now felt painfully empty.
Emma had walked away.
She hadn't slammed the door.
She hadn't shouted.
Somehow, that hurt more.
Nathan lingered near the entrance, watching me with the expression of a man who knew better than to offer comforting words.
"I warned you," he said eventually.
"You did."
"I also said the truth gets heavier every day you carry it."
I let out a humorless laugh.
"Congratulations. You were right."
"I wasn't trying to win."
Neither of us spoke for a while.
Outside, reporters still crowded the street.
Camera flashes bounced across the ceiling through tiny gaps
