جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 123

The dining table in Paraty was full.It wasn’t a big table — the house had been designed for intimacy, not banquets — but we had improvised.We joined two tables, spread light tablecloths, and added extra chairs that Mateo had found in the basement. The result was a mosaic of people, laughter, and dishes that blended together.August was sitting between Aurora and Matilda, eyes shining as he told them about the crab he had seen on the beach. Thaïs, beside Mateo, gestured with enthusiasm, describing something I couldn’t quite hear but that made Mateo almost smile. Raphaël, his arm still in a cast but already more animated, tried to eat with his left hand, with mixed results that Anya never missed the chance to tease him about.Luca and Zahir argued about football as if they hadn’t spent the last few months fighting for their lives. Edda watched everything in silence, a glass of wine in her hand, an almost imperceptible smile on her lips. Gregor, still a little distant but already integ

The air in the hall was beginning to feel heavy.It wasn’t the lack of oxygen, nor the heat from the bodies. It was the weight of the unasked questions, the looks that evaluated me, the whispers that spread like fire on dry straw.I needed a moment of silence, of air, of distance.“I need to go to the bathroom,” I said to Tristan, squeezing his hand under the table.“Do you want me to go with you?”“No.” I smiled, a smile I hoped was convincing. “Stay here. Hold down the fort.”He hesitated but nodded.I stood up, moving away from the table with the elegance I had learned to force over years of social events. The navy blue dress swayed gently, the low shoes kept my steps steady.The bathroom was at the end of the corridor, a spacious and silent space with golden mirrors and marble sinks. But I never made it there.Erika blocked my path.She was surrounded by three women, the same ones I had seen beside her throughout the entire dinner, the same ones who laughed in unison every time sh