The heavy silence in the hall seemed to stretch endlessly as Mr. Walter slowly reached into the box. With his weathered hands, he carefully lifted out the items one after another: the crisp military uniform, the gleaming unit badge, and finally, a single sealed letter.The moment the letter appeared, the atmosphere in the room changed. Everyone's attention shifted toward it.Mr. Walter held the parchment carefully between his fingers, staring at the seal for a few seconds as though gathering himself before opening it. He finally broke the seal and unfolded the parchment.His eyes moved slowly across the written words as the room remained completely silent. No one dared interrupt him as he read.Then, halfway through the letter, Mr. Walter suddenly stopped. He lifted his head and stared directly at Raymond.Raymond remained where he was, his expression calm and unreadable. Mr. Walter said nothing. He simply continued staring at him, as though the words on the parchment had given him s

As everyone saw that Raymond was pointing directly at Silver, a breathless silence gripped the room. Silver stood completely frozen, her heart pounding against her ribs as she stared at Raymond’s outstretched hand and his index finger was pointed directly at her. It made no sense to her.Why would Raymond choose her? She was his best friend’s sister. There was no way he could possibly mean her. Her mind raced as she stared at him, searching his expression for some sign that this was all a misunderstanding. Perhaps he had pointed at someone behind her. Perhaps there was another person standing nearby whom she had failed to notice.Desperate to escape the reality staring her in the face, Silver suddenly turned around. She looked behind her.Nothing. Her eyes quickly moved from one side to the other, but there was no one standing there. The only person anywhere near the direction Raymond was pointing was her grandmother. Silver stared at her grandmother for a moment before slowly turning

“I agree,” Silver said, her voice cutting through the heavy silence of the room like a drawn blade. “I agree to marry you.”A sharp gasp swept through the hall.For several seconds, nobody moved. Everyone stared at Silver as though they had misheard her.Then the whispers began.“What is she thinking?” one of the aunts muttered, covering her mouth as she glanced nervously at Silver. “He isn’t worth her time. He isn’t worth anything.”“One of the brightest minds in this family, throwing everything away like this,” another cousin whispered, shaking his head.The relatives exchanged bewildered and disapproving looks. None of them could understand why Silver, of all people, would willingly agree to such an arrangement.Silver heard every word but she kept her face calm, refusing to give them the satisfaction of seeing even a hint of hesitation. Inside, however, anger twisted painfully in her chest. She still could not believe this was happening. Only moments ago, she had been standing ther

“Well,” Victoria’s mother said, her sharp voice losing some of its certainty as doubt crept into her expression. She clasped and unclasped her hands nervously before finally shaking her head. “It could be… but at the same time, I just don’t believe it. I don’t believe it at all.”She began pacing again, her heels tapping against the floor.“A real god of War wouldn’t just fold his arms and take everything we threw at him. Even if he deserved some of the punishment we gave him, someone with that kind of power wouldn’t simply sit there and allow himself to be humiliated without fighting back. We know that for a fact.” She stopped and looked at her husband.“I don’t even want to entertain the thought, but we need to be certain. We need to be sure about something like this .....sure that we aren’t making a massive mistake.” Her fingers tightened together. “Something isn’t right. I can feel it. There is something very wrong here, and the more I think about it, the more uneasy I become.”

“So, tell me then,” Marcus said, gesturing quickly with his hands as he searched Victoria’s face. “What is it? You just have to talk to me. What is going on? Did something happen?”Victoria hesitated for a moment, studying him carefully before giving a slow, deliberate nod.“Yeah, actually,” she said. “It’s that good-for-nothing Raymond. That good-for-nothing bastard, your friend. And I think you also need to clarify a few things about yourself as well.”She stepped closer, narrowing her eyes as she held his gaze.“Yes,” she continued. “Because we all know that you and Raymond are friends. Am I wrong?”Marcus nodded without hesitation.“No, you’re not wrong. We are friends. That part is true.”Victoria watched him closely, as though trying to determine whether he was hiding something from her. His answer had come too easily, leaving her no reason to question that particular part.“Okay, then,” she said slowly. “Since the two of you are friends, there’s something you’re not telling me