Stacy POV
The silence in the room was deafening. It pressed against my eardrums, heavy and suffocating, as I stared at the boy I had spent my entire life calling my cousin.
Adrian stood there, his posture rigid, his eyes carefully avoiding mine. I could hear the frantic beating of my own heart, a rapid drumming against my ribs that seemed way too loud for the quiet space. I was waiting. I was holding my breath, desperately waiting for him to open his mouth and correct the absurd, terrifying trajectory this conversation had just taken.
Ma Anna stood between us, her sharp eyes darting from Adrian’s closed-off expression to my increasingly pale face. She wasn't a woman easily fooled, and the tension vibrating in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife.
When Adrian didn’t answer righ
