Thud.
The sound did not exist in the room, but inside Liv's mind, those words struck like lightning.
The world seemed to stop moving.
Liv froze completely.
She did not cry. She did not scream. She did not even breathe properly. Her gaze went empty, her body rigid, as if her soul had been left a few steps behind.
I never should have married you.
Her heart began to pound harder, painfully, deafeningly. The words kept circling in her head, over and over again, more merciless than any accusation.
And in that moment, Liv understood with devastating clarity, the most painful truth was not that the land was falling into ruin, but the possibility that from the very beginning… her own existence had been a mistake.
"So…" her voice finally came out, thin and fragile, "so it really is me…"
The words caught in her throat. She swallowed with difficulty, her chest rising and falling unevenly.
