Breathing. Moving. Real.
I clamp my hand over my mouth.
The scream dies in my throat.
The door closes behind them.
Aria crumples.
Her legs give out. She drops like a puppet with cut strings. Dmitri catches her before she hits the floor. Unconscious.
Sophia—
Sophia falls to her knees.
Her hands press against her mouth. Her body shakes. Tears stream down her face. She's crying. Sobbing. Trying desperately not to scream.
She fails.
A sound escapes her. Muffled by her palms. Broken and raw and filled with something I can't name.
Lorenzo moves.
He crosses the room in three strides. Drops to his knees in front of his wife. Pulls her hands away from her face.
"Tesoro," he breathes. "I'm here. I'm here."
Sophia throws herself at him.
She wraps her arms around his neck. Buries her face in his shoulder. Her whole body convulses with sobs.
Lorenzo holds her.
His eyes close. His arms tighten. He presses his lips to her hair and whispers words I can't hear.
I can't breathe.
I can't think.
I can't process what I'm seeing.
We buried him.
We stood at his grave. We watched his casket lower into the ground. We threw dirt on his coffin.
Sophia screamed.
She screamed like her soul was being ripped from her body.
And now?—
Now he's here.
Alive.
Holding her.
What the hell is going on?
