Chapter 80 : Living together

"I was warned, I was… I was informed earlier… yet I did nothing! Riya told me! How could I be such an idiot?!" Amaya screamed, her voice cracking with frustration as she tugged at her hair, her eyes blazing with self-loathing. Seth, Sophia, and Fred stood before her, their expressions a mix of concern and helplessness, while Elli was finally asleep in her room. "Ama, please! Calm down! This isn't your fault! No one would have believed Riya! Not even us if she had told us!" Sophia pleaded, gripping Amaya's shaking hands tightly, trying to anchor her in the storm of her emotions.

"But she didn't tell any of you! She came to me! I had a chance, and I just stood there, watching El's dream crumble!" Amaya's voice trembled, her breath hitching as tears streamed down her cheeks, her face contorted in anguish as she sank to her knees. Her shoulders shook with the weight of her guilt, the rawness of her pain palpable in the air.