The entire room froze.
Don Diego stood so fast his chair scraped against the marble like a growl. "What nonsense is this?! Sit down, María José!"
She didn't.
"Explain yourself now," he barked at her, but she didn't recoil.
Yes, that's the defiance I was rooting for.
Hugo was howling in my head: "Save us, momma! Save us from this witch!"
"I cannot support this union because Rosa doesn't love Axel. Because she's using him. Because she doesn't deserve to bond with anyone, especially not someone as good as him." She declared, chin raised high.
Boom.
Shock ricocheted through the hall like an earthquake. Someone dropped their champagne
The air in the grand hall thickened, every breath laden with anticipation and the faint scent of roses wilting under the weight of deceit. My heart pounded, not from love or joy, but from the impending storm that María José had just unleashed.
