Chapter Seventeen
Ana
The silence that followed was heavy and suffocating. It stretched out for a long time, broken only by the sound of the papers shifting as they settled on the cold marble floor.
Everyone in the room—the guests, the guards, the servants—seemed to be holding their breath.
I stood there, trembling from exhaustion and pain, watching the man who was supposed to be my soulmate. Desmond didn't move at first. He stared down at the rejection file as if it were a strange, dangerous animal.
Very slowly, he reached out, his hand hovering over the papers before he finally picked them up. His fingers gripped the folder so hard the cardboard began to bend.
Before he could speak, a sharp, high-pitched sob broke the silence. Ema began to cry.
It wasn't the quiet, dignified cryin
