Chapter 70: Pain

"My baby, my baby," Mrs. Martins wailed, her heart shattered into a million pieces as she desperately shook her daughter's lifeless body. "Please, Zelda, wake up," she sobbed, her voice raw with anguish. "Don't do this to your mother."

Ermanno stood there, helpless and grieving, cradling Zelda's bloodied form in his arms. The silence in the room was heavy with despair, the air thick with sorrow.

With a gentleness that belied the strength of his grip, Ermanno held Zelda's body close to his heart, as if he could somehow bring her back through sheer force of will and love. Though his affections for her had never been romantic, she had been a fixture in his life, a constant presence throughout his formative years.

Looking up at Mrs. Martins, his eyes brimming with tears, Ermanno whispered, "I'm sorry, ma. I'm so sorry." His voice cracked as he buried his face in Zelda's neck, his whispered apologies a litany of grief.

“Please, come back to me…”

Ermanno's whispered pleas fell upon deaf ear