Back then, survival meant sealing it all away. Not thinking. Not feeling. Just… pushing forward. Pretending I was fine.
I just wanted to forget. To never speak of it again.
“Apparently, he bought it,” I say, my voice uneven.“Because it reminded him of me.”
I swallow, the words tasting like iron.
“And now he keeps showing up. First at the hotel… then yesterday, at lunch with Greg and Adriana.”
“And what does he want?” she asks gently.
“To know,” I admit, voice shaking. “The truth.”
“And what doyou want?”
She always had a way of shedding light on things.
My breath catches.
“To turn back time,” I say bitterly. “To erase it all.”
“That’s an impossible want.” She replies, calm and unwavering.
“I know.” Emotion claws at my throat, but I keep it buried deep.
“I can’t tell him. I can’t open that door.”
She doesn’t push. She waits—still and present—until the words spill out.
“If he knew… everything that happened…” My voice trembles. “He wouldn’t—”
Her words cut through the fear—quiet, but solid as stone.
“Della… monsters only have power in the dark.”
A shiver runs through me, and my fingers tighten around the phone without meaning to.
“The longer you hide from them,” she continues, voice low but clear. “The more they control you. But once you face them… they lose their teeth.”
I close my eyes, every part of me aching.
“You’ve already survived the worst,” she adds, her voice thick with emotion. “There’s nothing he could do that would ever hurt you more than what you’ve already endured.”
She pauses, then adds,
“If the truth is what he’s really after… maybe it’s time he hears it. Maybe, telling him could set you free, Della. Do it for you. Not for him.”
Tears burn behind my eyes.
“You always make it sound so easy.”
She lets out a soft laugh, tinged with sadness.
“It’s not easy,” she admits. “But it’s the only way forward.”
Silence again—deep, raw, necessary.
“I am the eldest” I murmur “but you are the wisest. Always were.”
