Chapter 47: Missed Opportunities
Griffin~
I barely remembered getting into my car, but my hands gripped the steering wheel with white-knuckled intensity as I sped toward my grandfather’s house. The Golden city lights blurred past, but my mind was stuck on one thing—Natalie.
The Celestial Princess.
The thought alone made my stomach churn. It couldn’t be true. It just couldn’t.
Next to me, my father, Michael, sat rigid in the passenger seat, his gaze sharp and calculating. The only indication of his unease was the way his fingers drummed against his knee, a rare show of nervousness from the man who had never feared anything.
"I contacted your grandfather through the link," he said suddenly, his voice calm but firm. "He’s expecting us."
I swallowed. "Good."
For a long moment, silence settled between us, then, my father exhaled sharply and muttered, almost to himself, "I hope all this Natalie business is just a lie."
He didn’t finish his thought, but he didn’t need to.
Because if it wasn’t a lie...
My chest tightened, and suddenly, it felt unbearably hot inside the car. My grip on the steering wheel faltered, my breathing turned shallow. My vision blurred slightly at the edges, and a strange weight settled over me like I was being crushed from the inside out.