"We are here to pay our last respects to our father, brother, and friend, Shen Tao…"
The words hung heavy in the air, twisting tight around Athena's heart. She turned her head into Aiden's hard chest, allowing the tears she had fought so hard to contain to finally flow.
It was a moment of surrender amidst grief, the acknowledgment of loss as the funeral service reached its peak, the moment where they were about to close the coffin of Master Shen.
The memories flooded in then, uninvited yet insistently vivid.
She had met Master Shen at one of those ridiculous parties organized by Antonio's parents six years ago, a world she desperately tried to fit into but continuously stumbled out of, landing back in the dust.
