Chapter Seventy Five

Have you ever felt so oppressed and melancholy to the point that you wanted to grip onto anything solely to get away from the murky, unnerving, and distressing feelings? I've gone through a lot in life, with several dilemmas and problems, but I don't suppose I'd ever grown accustomed to it. It was excruciatingly torturous. The agony and suffocation were so intense that I felt as if I were being trapped deep beneath with no possibility of breathing air and much fewer possibilities of survival.

My knuckles tightened around the cup in my palms, and I turned away from Justine and Peter, hoping they wouldn't see the expression of guilt on my face. I'd let recollections of my comrade diminish because remembering those I'd lost was too hard. I imagined how unhappy Gigi would be if she felt I'd forgotten about her.

"So, what else are we up to?" Peter inquired, interrupting the awkward pause. "I understand that now is undoubtedly not the greatest moment to discuss it, but we do need to formulat