The church was quiet, almost painfully so, the muted scent of lilies and polished wood filling the air. Sofia’s heels clicked softly against the floor as she walked in, each step measured, careful not to draw attention. She kept her head slightly bowed, in her black dress. Her presence was almost ghostlike as she moved toward the back row.
Even from where she sat, her heart twisted at the sight before her. A woman, shoulders shaking and head bowed, knelt beside the casket at the front. Sofia didn’t need to be told that this was the deceased’s family. Her mother.
Her gaze drifted past the family to the first row. Henry sat alone, his hands clenched together, eyes fixed somewhere beyond the church walls. He looked alone and broken in a way that cut through Sofia’s chest. No one was beside
