Waiting had always been more difficult than conflict.
Aria understood that with an intimacy earned over months of sustained tension. Conflict created direction. It demanded response. Waiting required restraint, and restraint carried its own kind of exhaustion.
The council doors closed without ceremony.
No announcements. No timelines. Just a quiet adjournment and a promise of deliberation.
The city did not erupt.
It held still.
That stillness felt heavier than outrage ever had.
Marcelo stood by the window of the briefing room, watching the street below where journalists lingered without purpose, phones idle in their hands. "They are choosing delay," he said.
"Yes," Aria replied. "Because delay spreads responsibility."
"And diffuses blame," Luca added.
Aria nodded. "And tests endurance."
The coalition had anticipated this moment. That much was clear. Their representatives did not issue statements demanding action. They did not pressure publicly. They waited.
