I shifted uncomfortably. “Confusing?”
“You don’t get to just waltz in here whenever you feel like it. Show up, drop a gift on her lap, and then disappear again. She’ssix. She doesn’t understand why you keep leaving, why you can’t be bothered to stick around.”
I didn’t respond. I wanted to. I wanted to tell her she was wrong, that I’d changed, that this time would be different. But the words never came.
Isabel shook her head. “You think birthdays erase everything else, Vale? You missed Mama’s scans. You don’t answer your phone. You barely exist in our lives.”
Her voice cracked at the end.
My fingers curled into fists at my sides, nails biting into my palms. I wanted to shrink, to become smaller, to disappear from this kitchen.
“What happened to you?” Isabel whispered, taking a step closer. “You used to care about us, about family. Now I don’t even know who you are.”
I swallowed again, my throat tight. Her words were harsh, but they were nothing compared to the accusations I hurled at myself every night in the quiet dark of my apartment. I knew I’d become someone I didn’t recognize either—someone who ran instead of facing the mess, who hid behind excuses and empty promises.
“Say something,” she urged, frustration creeping back into her voice as she folded her arms tightly across her chest. “Yell at me. Defend yourself. Do anything but just stand there.”
But I couldn’t. Because she was right.
I had no defense, nothing that would justify what I’d done—or what I hadn’t done. And it hurt more to stand there in silence absorbing the blows than it would to fight back. But maybe I deserved to feel every bit of it.
“Mama’s sick, Valentina,” she said, turning to face me fully. “We’re all doing the best we can, but you don’t get to check out just because things are hard.”
“Iknowshe’s sick,” I finally snapped.
“Then act like it!” Isabel fired.
“Iamacting like it! You’re not the only one paying for her treatments.”
“Oh, really?” Her eyes narrowed. “Because I had to cover last month. Your card got declined.”
I froze. “What’re you talking about?”
Suddenly, I felt twelve years old again, caught lying about something stupid—my homework, a curfew, borrowing her clothes. Except this time it was bigger. Way bigger. This time I was an adult. Supposedly. Responsible, capable. Again, supposedly. And yet here I was, exposed, my image crumbling around me.
“I had to usemymoney, because when they ran your card, it bounced. They called me. I thought you said you had it covered this month.”
My heart sank, thoughts spinning out of control. Declined? Impossible. I’d been meticulous—or so I thought. Ever since the other accounts got frozen, I’d switched to using only my personal one.
That was it. That was the last of it.
Funny how the world works. One minute you have a man who handles everything for you, and the next you don’t. One minute you’re sitting in a penthouse, your biggest worry being which overpriced wine to order for dinner, and the next you’re standing in your sister’s kitchen trying to explain why your card got declined for your mother’s medical bills.
Maybe that was the karma I deserved for being a gold digger.
I never liked that word much.Gold digger.It sounded so harsh, painting me as some greedy villain sitting atop a pile of cash that wasn’t mine. The truth was, I hadn’t been digging for gold. I’d been drowning, and Cillian’s hand was the only one reaching out to pull me up.
And I’d taken it. Who the hell wouldn’t? I hadn’t asked too many questions, hadn’t looked too closely at the cost. I’d let him pay for everything—Mama’s treatments, the rent, the food on the table—because I wanted to believe in the illusion I could finally breathe again.
But illusions don’t last.
Now? Now I was out of options, out of money, and staring at my sister’s face while she waited for an explanation I couldn’t give her. I swallowed hard, trying to push down the bitter taste in my mouth, and forced myself to look at her.
“I’ll figure it out,” I said again, the words feeling empty.
“Valentina, you can’t keep doing this. You can’t just wing it and hope everything falls into place.”
She didn’t understand. How could she? I couldn’t even explain it to myself.
