The tension in the room was almost palpable—a heavy, suffocating silence draped over the gathering after Lili’s stern command for Dysis to apologize. Dysis stood with quiet defiance etched in her eyes, every muscle taut as if bracing against the crushing weight of judgment.
But before she could decide what to do, a small, unexpected voice sliced through the silence like a blade.
"She’s lying!"
The exclamation was so sudden, so clear, that the room itself seemed to jolt. Every eye snapped toward the source—a little boy with tousled blond hair and wide, earnest eyes that shone with both confusion and an unyielding determination far beyond his years. Brayden.
Dysis’s breath hitched.
She had expected scorn. More accusations. Maybe even Alexander’s cold indifference. But not this. Not him.
