Chapter 141
The silence that followed Lilith's departure was heavy, thick with unspoken words and unresolved emotions. The echo of her frantic denial still seemed to hang in the air, a dissonant chord in the otherwise familiar harmony of our home.
I looked at my mother, her face etched with a weariness that went beyond the simple exhaustion of the day. The protective fire that had blazed so brightly moments before had dimmed, replaced by a deep, almost sorrowful concern.
The silence after Lilith's flight was not empty, but full. It hummed with the ghost of her words and the aftershock of Mother's defense. I looked at my mother. The fiery matriarch was gone, replaced by a woman whose shoulders seemed to bend under an invisible, sorrowful weight. The anger had burned away, leaving only ashes of worry in her eyes.
