**Stefano’s POV**

The room didn't just go silent. It went dead.

I sat there, frozen, staring at Martina. I waited for her lips to twitch. I waited for her to let out a nervous laugh and tell me she was just tired, that she had made a horrible mistake with her words. I waited for the world to stop spinning.

But she didn't move. She just watched me, her eyes brimming with a deep, ancient sadness.

“What?” I breathed. The word felt like a shard of glass in my throat.

She didn't answer. ...