Chapter 32: The Moment Time Betrays Them
The doors open.
The gathering is formal. Political. Hollow.
And then—
She walks in.
Justin forgets how to breathe.
Tristana.
Alive.
Unchanged—and yet completely different.
His heart stutters violently as that fractured bond flares.
Pain.
Recognition.
Something broken trying desperately to remember what it once was.
Her eyes drift across the room—
And land on him.
She pauses.
Just for a second.
Her brow furrows slightly.
Like she's trying to place a face she should know…
But doesn't.
And then—
She looks away.
Justin's world ends again.