Chapter 15
Hanna
With a clearing of his throat, he turns toward the sea, the waves crashing dangerously against the shore. Our eye contact breaks, and I instantly realize that I've once again lost control for a moment.
My goodness, why did I tell him all of that? I don't let anyone else know such personal things about me. How did the conversation even take this direction when I'm here to explore the beach?
Silently, we walk a few steps side by side. I take in the salty sea air, smell the seaweed, and feel the sun rays on my skin. But most of all, I'm aware of Vico's presence, which gives me a warm feeling in my chest that shouldn't be there. I can't forget my mission here and must do what needs to be done.
I blow my bangs out of my face. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure." His hands casually slide into his pockets.
We pass by two seagulls resting on driftwood, undisturbed by our presence. "What happened to the estate?"
For a moment, he holds his breath. "What do you mean?" he asks, evading the question.
My intuition tells me he understood my question well. "What led to its decay?"
Silently, he shrugs. I sense his unease and would love to end the conversation immediately, but Florian won't let me get away with it.
"I know about the olive oil," I say cautiously.
Instead of responding, he presses his lips together and turns his head, letting the sea breeze ruffle his hair.
As little as I could read him before, I can now clearly see what's going on inside him. Though I can't see his expression, his tense posture reveals that he's struggling.
This topic hurts him.
"My mother passed away five years ago," he suddenly says so softly that I can barely hear it over the crashing waves. "Father never recovered."
"He loved her very much," I say wistfully, my heart painfully tightening. Can there really be such great love? And what would it do to a person who loses their soulmate too soon? "I'm so sorry."
Vico nods absentmindedly. "He wanted to carry on. Despite his grief. Work was supposed to distract him."
In my mind, the story continues to unfold. "But he couldn't make it," I add, and I have to swallow hard. What if he kept getting worse and worse? What if he's at risk of dying from his broken heart?
"They say time heals all wounds." He scoffs, his voice tinged with bitterness. "But for my father, time has only done one thing. It's made his wound open up more and more."
My goodness, how terrible. I look down at the ground, where the waves' tendrils coolly touch my toes. "Is he suffering from depression?"
"He has lost all motivation," he confirms, kneading his hands as if trying to release his tension.
So this is the illness the woman at the village store spoke about. And that's also why I've never met him, and Florian has only had contact with Camilla.
I want to embrace Vico. Tell him that I empathize with him and would gladly share his pain to make it a little smaller for him.
"What about you?" I ask in a hoarse voice. " Do you miss her so much too?"
His jaw clenches. "I'm coping."
I suppress the impulse to reach out my hand to him. A thousand questions swarm in my head, but I don't dare to ask any of them.
"Even when Mother got sick, the estate started to decline. We needed the money for her treatment." He takes a deep breath. "After her death, it fell into further disrepair. Camilla did her best to take care of the property and Father. She was too proud to ask for help. But her pregnancy showed her she couldn't handle the estate," he continues in a controlled tone. "And once the twins are born, she won't have time for anything else."
Life is meant to be enjoyed,I suddenly hear the village store owner whisper inside me. What does she mean by that?
He clears his throat for a noticeable length of time. "It's good that the estate is being sold. My father needs closure."
