Chapter 76 Caelum

• The urge to leave the table and go after Alexander and Aria stirs within me like an uncontrollable current. But there are too many eyes, too much tension, and every time I consider leaving, I feel the weight of hundreds of gazes fixed on me, ready to catch any sign of hesitation or weakness. My left foot taps anxiously against the floor, echoing the impatience growing inside me.
• I glance at Seraphina, who exudes triumph over the scene unfolding at dinner. Her goal of humiliating Aria in front of everyone has been wildly successful.
• For a moment, it feels like another layer of my blindness toward Seraphina begins to peel away, as though a veil is slowly and painfully falling. Before, I felt guilt for desiring Aria—an almost paralyzing guilt—believing that Seraphina didn’t deserve such betrayal. But her behavior in recent months has revealed a darker side, one I’ve been reluctant to acknowledge. Her increasingly frequent accusations, her relentless persecution of Aria… they’re signs of a dangerous, unsettling obsession. Something inside me whispers that I am finally seeing Seraphina for the first time, with eyes unclouded by the illusions that have held me captive for so long.