She nods her head. “I know that’s how it seems. All I know is from the brief encounters I’ve had with him, he seems to care deeply for you.”
I shake my head, blinking back tears. “Caring doesn’t erase the lies. Or the fact he left. He vanished, Mamma. He didn’t even try to find me.”
She squeezes my hand gently. “Maybe he was trying to protect you. Men do stupid things in the name of love. Especially when they’re raised in a world where love is used like currency or punishment.”
I stare out at the garden, at the sunlight dappling through the trees, dancing across the gravel path. My scarf itches against my neck and I tug at it instinctively, revealing the faint bloom of the bruise I saw when I checked in the taxi ride here.
Her gaze falls there. “He gave you that?”
I nod once.
“And you let him close enough to do it.” There’s no judgment in her voice. Just a quiet observation.
I look down, my voice barely above a whisper. “I wanted to hate him. I still do. But every time I look at him, I remember who he was… who I was when I was with him.”
“Young. In love. Hopeful.” She gives me a whimsical smile.
I smile back bitterly. “Stupid.”
“No, innocente. You were just a girl who believed in the wrong version of forever.”
I turn my face towards her. “What if I still believe in it? What if some small, stupid part of me still wants that forever—with him?”
She brushes my hair behind my ear like she did when I was a child. “Then you have to ask yourself one thing.”
I sniffle, wiping under my eyes. “What?”
“Do you want to keep punishing yourself for the man he used to be… or give the man he’s become a chance to show you he’s changed?” Her brow furrows. “I don’t know what was going through his head back then or why he never came back. Maybe he knew if he came back, your uncle would kill him. Maybe he thought you’d hate him for killing your father. There are so many reasons why he may have stayed away.”
“But there’s one reason he should have come back.” A lump forms in my throat. “Love.” I think about the way he held me on the flight. The way his hands shook. The way he looked when he found out about Angelos. “He obviously didn’t love me enough.”
“Not everything is aRomeo and Julietstory, Rosetta. Whatever his reasons, it’s been years. Give the man a chance. You deserve a shot at happiness.”
“And what if he hasn’t changed?”
“Then you’ll know. But at least you’ll have chosen with your eyes open this time.”
I lean back, letting her words settle. The garden buzzes with distant chatter and the occasional chirp of birds. Somewhere in the hospital, a bell rings, calling staff to the ward.
Mamma pats her chest gently, her breathing shallow but steady. “Don’t waste your life trying to undo the past. You can’t change where you’ve been. But you can choose who stands beside you from here on in.”
I nod, swallowing down the ache in my throat. The tears finally fall, soft and silent.
And for the first time in years, I let them.
22
DAN
Ilean against the Obelisco Sallustiano in front of the Church of Trinità dei Monti, at the top of the Spanish Steps. The strawberry gum in my mouth calms me, but only a little as I wait for Magnus. With my back against the structure, I scan the area. He’s clever, arranging to meet in the open. One of the busiest parts of Rome, full of tourists and cameras. Too public to strangle him with my bare hands.
I need him out of the picture—and fast. Gathering data on his operations isn’t gonna cut it this time. He’s a loose end that needs tying up, his mere existence hanging over me and my family like a grey cloud blocking out the sun.
My spine prickles. There he is—threading through the crowd like oil in water, polluting everything in his path. That sunken face, dishevelled suit, and the ugly scar across his cheek that I want to mirror on the other side.
I push off the obelisk as he climbs the stairs, his eyes finding me through the sea of people. My shoulders are lighter knowing he’s here meeting me, allowing Rose to visit her mum with no threat from this man.
He holds out a hand for me to shake.
