The room felt suffocatingly quiet, the kind of silence that pressed down on the chest and made every small sound feel amplified.
Adrian sat on the wide leather couch with effortless authority, one leg crossed casually over the other.
A half-smoked cigarette rested lazily between his long fingers, thin trails of smoke curling upward into the air like lazy ghosts. His expression was calm, too calm, as if the brutal punishment that had just taken place was nothing more than a minor inconvenience in his day. The faint scent of tobacco mixed with the lingering metallic tang of tension still hanging in the room.
In complete contrast, Raya paced restlessly across the polished floor.
Back and forth.
