The silence did not last.
It shattered.
Vivian stood still in front of Dorian, her breathing controlled even as the weight of his demand pressed heavily against her chest. The chamber felt smaller now, tighter, as if the walls themselves were waiting for her answer. Behind the sealed barrier, Sebastian's figure was still visible through the reinforced glass, his eyes locked on hers, steady, unyielding, refusing to break even when everything else had.
Dorian watched her closely, his expression calm, patient, as though he had already accounted for every possible outcome. "Say it," he repeated, his voice quieter now, but sharper. "And this ends."
For a brief second, Vivian's gaze flickered—not with doubt, but with clarity. Everything slowed inside her, the noise, the tension, even the fear that had followed them into this place. What remained was something stronger, something that had survived every twist, every revelation, every attempt to break it.
Choice.
