Chapter 52 A Silent Storm

• The days had grown long and lonely, stretching out like an endless desert before Evangelina. Ever since her encounter with Aemilio had left her reeling, she hadn't seen him much. When he returned to the estate, his presence was fleeting. She would catch a glimpse of him as he hurried off to meetings or buried himself in work. Even when their paths crossed, there was an unspoken distance between them—a barrier she couldn't quite name but could feel pressing heavily against her chest.
• She told herself it didn't matter. She had no right to ask for more, no reason to seek him out. Yet, the silence he left in his wake felt unbearable.
• Evangelina found herself roaming the house more frequently. Sometimes, when she stood in the hallway, she would listen for his footsteps, hoping for the faint sound of his boots on the marble floors. But it was always too quiet, as if the walls themselves had conspired to swallow up any trace of him.