Chapter 1689.5

They stepped through the archway into silence.

It wasn't absence - far from it. The silence hummed, vibrated with potential, like a held breath before the first note of a song. The path beneath their feet shimmered like moonlight on water, wide and winding through a landscape that defied rules. Trees grew upside down from the sky, their roots trailing through clouds. Crystalline flowers hovered just above the ground, glowing with emotion instead of light. Mountains pulsed on distant horizons, breathing slowly like sleeping beasts.

They walked together, barefoot and glowing, their bodies still marked by the shimmering bond of the pool. Jude kept Lucy close to his right, Sophie on his left. Rose walked ahead, always one step forward, always just beyond reach. The rest of the wives spread out behind them like a living constellation.

"This is a memory," Stella whispered, running her fingers along the stem of a floating orchid. "But not ours."