“No—” I started, but I didn’t get to finish.
The line went dead.
Silence rushed back in immediately, heavier than before.
I stared at the phone in my hand, unblinking.
My fingers trembled as I lowered it slowly.
For a moment, I couldn’t move.
Then I opened the messaging app.
My hands shook so badly I nearly dropped the phone twice before I managed to activate location sharing.
The screen lit up, bright and indifferent, as the small blue dot appeared and began to pulse.
I stared at it.
And as I did, something inside me—something desperate and unwise—whispered through the pain.
Let Rafael find me first.
The thought is irresponsible. Reckless. Pathetic, even—I know that.
But it lingers anyway.
Because if Vincenzo gets to me before Rafael does, it will be over.
He would never let Rafael near me again.
Not after everything. Not after what he believes Rafael has already taken from me.
And I can’t even decide which fear is worse anymore.
Because despite everything I had just heard...
Despite the betrayal I believed I had witnessed...
Despite the suitcase sitting by the door like proof of my escape...
A part of me still wasn’t ready to believe I had truly been discarded.
Not by Rafael. Not like that.
An hour passes quickly—like it means nothing.
Sixty minutes.
Sixty moments where I keep expecting ‘someone’ that never arrives.
No call. No message. No knock at the door.
No Rafael.
The absence carved itself into my chest with increasing precision, as if each passing minute was taking something small and necessary from me.
Eventually, my body gave out from standing in emotional suspension.
