Light.
As if those barbed exchanges were the only thing that still made me feel alive.
And maybe, I thought as I stood and shut the television off, I should be concerned by how addicted I was becoming to this dangerous game.
Valentina was right about one thing:
We’d been under the same roof less than a week.
But the more she looked at me with hatred…
the more I wanted her to keep looking.
***
Late afternoon smelled like sweet popcorn and children’s laughter—an irritating kind of lightness I still didn’t know what to do with.
Clara ran a few steps ahead, excited, a pink lollipop shining in her small hand, her easy smile infecting everyone around her.
Including me.
Of course I would never admit that out loud.
“Mommy, look!” Clara’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts, her eyes bright. “Uncle Gustavo is there!”
Valentina followed Clara’s gaze and smiled—a light, calm smile that irritated me instantly for reasons I refused to examine.
“It is,” she said, lifting her hand. “Hi, Guto!”
A tall man in a casual black T-shirt approached with easy steps and an annoyingly friendly smile. The kind of man who could chat with a streetlamp and make it feel appreciated.
My eyes narrowed before I could stop them.
Habit.
Or instinct.
“Well, look who’s here!” he said warmly, crouching to hug Clara with a natural ease I didn’t like. “My favorite reader!”
“I finished the book you gave me!” Clara announced, waving her hands. “It had dragons and a girl who could talk to them!”
Gustavo’s smile widened as he listened, clearly delighted.
“Since when does your daughter hand out the title ‘uncle’ to random men?” I said, my voice sharper than I intended.
Valentina shot me a hard look immediately, but Clara didn’t notice. Gustavo pretended not to hear, keeping his attention on Clara.
Valentina stepped closer, and her voice dropped—sweet in a way that was meant to cut.
“Since you’re not the only man in the world, Enrico.”
I turned to her slowly, serious.
“I’m the only one that matters.”
Her brow lifted—surprised by my audacity, irritated by it too.
“Oh yeah?”
