So, even though she was smiling brightly in front of everyone, projecting innocence and triumph, inside, her emotions were a tangled mess. She felt lost, conflicted, even sad. She didn't know what to do next. Would her life, and the people she loved, finally be safe? Could she really come out of her shell now and stop worrying about every little thing?
Hera wasn't sure.
Her gaze drifted back to Alice, who had just stumbled and caught herself against the wall. Alice looked dazed, as if struggling to process how everything had unraveled so quickly. Her world was clearly collapsing, her carefully constructed persona shattered publicly, beyond repair. Even without turning around, Alice must have felt the weight of the whispers behind her, the judgment thick in the air. Her breaths came shallow and quick—she was having a panic attack, suffocating beneath the wreckage of her own downfall.
