The silence of the suite was louder than the frantic clamor of the ballroom. It was a dense, physical thing, heavy with what hadn't happened.

When Ranvijay finally moved, it wasn't to touch me again. He simply walked away from the door, towards the wall of windows overlooking the city, and began to unbutton his cuff. It was a small, mundane action, yet in the context of the last hour, it felt like an earthquake—a sudden, sharp return to reality.