Liliana
The silence that followed was so thick that I could almost touch it. Everyone was staring at me like I had grown a second head. My heart was still racing, but for the first time tonight, I felt like I could breathe properly.
Anastasia walked slowly around Alex's chair, her heels clicking on the marble floor. Each step sounded like a gunshot in the quiet room.
Alex trembled, sweat formed on his face even in the cold.
But something about him made my heart swell.
The way he went against his family to protect his daughter. I wished I was her. I wished my father could love and protect me like that.
“Very clever, little bird,” Anastasia said finally. “But cleverness isn't always enough in our world.”
“It's better than pointless violence,” I replied, surprised by how steady my v
