Reunion

Time seemed to suspend its relentless march as Raphael and Elisa locked eyes.

In that charged moment, the atmosphere crackled with an electric intensity, and the weight of their shared history hung heavily in the air. Raphael's countenance wavered, a flicker of vulnerability crossing his features as he beheld her. Elisa, her face etched with a mixture of anger and pain, furrowed her brow and a frown etched its way onto her lips.

The silence was shattered by Melinda's seething outburst, her voice cutting through the stillness like a blade. Her fury propelled her forward, her steps purposeful and determined, until she stood before Raphael, her eyes ablaze with indignation.

"You!" she spat, her voice laced with venom. "After all you've done, you still have the audacity to appear before us?"

Raphael, seemingly impervious to Melinda's seething presence, refused to divert his gaze from Elisa.