Authors Note: I made some revisions to the previous chapter on Sunday, 1/28/24 at 11:00 AM (US EST). If you read it prior to that, please revisit as the changes are substantial. Thanks!
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Time seemed to stop as the garden fell into silence once more. It was even heavier now, a thick blanket woven with an indescribable sense of loss that filled not just the air and the flowers, but the very fabric of reality itself.
Rowan knew it was his loss that he felt all around him, his shock that stunned the garden into stillness. It was simply too big to contain within himself.
Unbelievably, Ciprian was still there, standing mere paces away. He neither moved nor spoke, as if he, too, were stunned by what had just happened.
Yet he existed, taking up space in this world he'd contaminated with his lies and fear when he should have been the one who was erased.
