Valeria sat completely still in her chair, her eyes locked onto the letters spread across the coffee table. The paper looked so fragile, so delicate, yet the words inked onto them felt heavy enough to crush everyone sitting in the living room. Her grandfather hadn't moved since he finished speaking. He just sat there with his head bowed, his tired, trembling hands resting flat on his knees as if he were trying to pin himself to the earth.
Around him, the rest of the family was frozen in various states of grief and disbelief. Her father had his jaw clenched so tightly that a muscle in his cheek twitched continuously, his eyes fixed on his grandmother's final confession. Her mother was softly rubbing Dorian's back, her own face pale and drawn. Theon sat beside Valeria, staring blankly ahead.
Valeria's heart pounded slowly against her chest.
