***
{Outside The Projection}
A father and his child.
What a beautiful scene…
It was almost picturesque.
Calming and peaceful yet so full of emotion.
If Safira had been in that hall, she might have died from the jealousy alone. Perhaps that was why she had gone to Al-Fawra in the first place—an escape from what could have been her personal Hell.
Layla hadn't even thought once about her, however.
She was lost...
Her mind pulled into this scene she'd somehow forgotten.
A scene she would have traded her life to experience once more.
And seeing it now… it hurt.
Hurt in a way no blade or poison could match.
Her heart strained against her chest, struggling to hold its sweetness and bitterness in the same breath.
She wasn't the only one feeling such strong emotions.
The very air in the hall felt thinner, pressed in from all sides by its weight.
Feeling somber was the least of it.
