Chapter 122

“No, this simply cannot be true,” I whispered, my mind struggling to reconcile the impossible scene unfolding before my very eyes. It felt as though I had been thrust into a nightmarish tableau, and my eyes brimmed with disbelief. My hand shook uncontrollably, desperately clutching onto something solid for support, as if the ground itself threatened to give way beneath me.

The word “No” escaped my quivering lips like a mantra, an involuntary chant in the face of this heart-wrenching revelation. I shook my head repeatedly, as though by sheer force of will, I could erase the undeniable truth that lay before me. But it was futile; there was no escaping it—it was Dima, unmistakably and undeniably Dima, and no one else.

Antonio’s voice, surprisingly gentle in the midst of the emotional tempest, cut through the deafening silence. “I hope you believe me now,” he said, his eyes holding steady on mine. Slowly, I turned to him, my fingers gently releasing their grip on the phone that had brought