The living room hung in silence after Aileen's words. Not the soft, forgettable kind of silence that drifts through casual conversation, but the kind that pressed down, thick and resonant, filling every corner of the space like a tangible weight. It wasn't empty.. it was heavy. Charged. Almost vibrating with disbelief, as though each of them needed a moment to recalibrate what they'd just heard.
Jayden blinked slowly, his mind trying to lock the words into place. The quiet thrum of the refrigerator in the kitchen was suddenly louder, the tick of the wall clock distinct, as though the world itself had leaned in to listen. Cassandra's lips parted slightly, caught somewhere between awe and curiosity, her posture tipping forward on instinct as if closer proximity might help her process what Aileen had just revealed.
