Chapter 329 - Growing Unease

The sun crept higher over the horizon, casting a golden glow across the rugged cliffside where Rafael lay sprawled like a broken marionette, his tall, athletic frame limp against the coarse gravel and tufts of wild grass. The ocean below roared its eternal symphony, waves smashing against jagged rocks with relentless fury, mirroring the turmoil churning within him. His crisp designer suit, once a symbol of his commanding presence, was now dirt-streaked and rumpled, clinging to his chiseled form dampened by the morning dew and his own ceaseless tears. Rafael's dark wavy hair fell across his forehead in disarray, and his piercing steel-grey eyes, usually so sharp and calculating, were bloodshot and swollen from hours of sobbing. He clutched at the earth beneath him, fingers digging into the soil as if anchoring himself against the abyss of despair.