Chapter 18 - I meet Alessandra
Four months after the gala, she agreed.
Neutral federal facility.
No mansion.
No guards of mine.
No Clara initially.
Just us.
I entered.
Alessandra stood near a window.
Shorter hair.
Scars visible near her collarbone.
Alive.
For months I had imagined what I would say.
I said nothing.
She did.
“You look older.”
I laughed once.
Then cried.
I had not cried in front of another adult since my father died.
She did not come toward me immediately.
That hurt.
I respected it.
Finally:
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For leaving you with a grave.”
I shook my head.
“You were trying to stay alive.”
“I was also afraid of you.”
That sentence stopped me.
“Me?”
“Not that you would kill me.”
“Then what?”
“That you would decide protecting me meant controlling everything.”
May you like
I could not argue.
Because it sounded exactly like me.
