Lahat ng Kabanata ng Torin-Shattered: Way Down We Go (Part 1): Kabanata 131 - Kabanata 134

The day felt like it wanted to split itself in half. One part humming with the quiet joy of planning a wedding I never thought I would get to have. The other part carrying the heavy shadow of that letter. The handwriting. The truth wrapped inside it like a fuse waiting for a match.Skye wasn’t the only one trying to keep you apart. The words haunted the edges of every moment.I tried to focus on the stack of fabric swatches spread across the table. Jess had found the box tucked behind the bar’s old storage closet. Silk in soft blues. Lace in creamy ivory. A darker piece in a deep wine color that Tannin kept insisting would “look lethal on me in the best possible way”. But every so often my gaze drifted toward the folded letter resting beside my elbow. Torin noticed. He always noticed.He brushed his hand along my back as he passed behind me, his touch slow and grounding. “You want to take a break?” he asked softly.I shook my head. “If I stop, I’ll just start thinking again.”“You ar

The rest of the day passed in that strange, weightless way where everything felt louder and softer at the same time. Like someone had peeled back a layer of silence I didn’t even know I’d been living under.The note and the photo stayed on the counter beside my sketchbook. No one touched them without asking. No one hovered. The space around them felt sacred. Untidy but important.Torin made lunch even though Rook swore he wasn’t hungry and then ate half the pan himself. Tannin complained about needing more sleep and then stayed awake for five more hours just to make sure Reif didn’t disappear on us again. Jess came and went, muttering about paperwork and police incompetence and how none of us better call him past midnight unless someone was literally bleeding. Reif hovered in the corner like he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to belong here but wanted to anyway.Late afternoon sunlight slanted across the loft, turning everything honey-gold. I sat on the floor by the coffee table with my