The Weight of Silence

CASSIA

The ride back to the city was painfully silent. The kind that pressed against my chest until I could barely breathe. The hum of the engine was the only sound filling the air, and even that seemed muted beneath the heavy tension between us.

Dante’s hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles pale, the faint flex of muscle along his forearm catching my eye. His face was unreadable.