Chapter 102

The atmosphere was thick with an uncomfortable stillness as the silence stretched on and on, seemingly without end. It felt like the calm before a storm-nothing but deafening quiet and apprehensive anticipation. I could feel the tension in my body, my breath quickening as I waited for someone to break the silence. I was struck by how suddenly this quiet had descended on us, a collective holding of our breaths that had somehow left us all utterly speechless in its wake.

“Daciana, are you hearing yourself?” the silence was so thick I could almost reach out and touch it, but then Stoic asked the question that felt like a heavy burden, shattering the silence that hung in the air between us.

“Yes, and I am one hundred percent certain of what I said.”

Everyone paused and looked at each other, stunned by my words. There was a tense silence as they tried to comprehend what I had just said; some were even beginning to shake their heads in disbelief. My statement seemed to come out of nowhere,