Severed Ties

Hazel’s POV

The silence in the car wasn’t ordinary — it was the kind that pressed against your chest until you forgot how to breathe.

Silas’s hands gripped the steering wheel, knuckles pale under the fading light. His gaze stayed locked on the road, rigid, cold, unreadable. Not once did he glance at me. Not even when I whispered his name.

“Silas?” I tried again, quieter this time. “Where are we go