“Now, on a lighter note, since we are talking about social media, and since you made it public not so long ago, how’s your relationship with a certain surfer?” Amélie grinned. “From the pictures on Instagram, you two look extremely happy together.”
Her cheeks flushed before she could stop it.
“Yes, we are… extremely happy.” She should’ve prepared something for that. Obviously, at a panel about social media, they were going to ask about her and Ilias. “He just landed in Biarritz. We’ll spend a few days here before heading back to Ericeira.”
“And what do you think about his suspension from the USL?”
“I think he had his reasons,” Sofia said with a shrug. “But we should never resort to violence. The USL had to follow itsguidelines, and I think they made the best decision. He’ll come back stronger.”
“I’m a huge surf gal, so I’m excited to see him back.”
“Me too.”
“Thank you so much for being here. Your insights on how social media can help the ocean are incredibly valuable. Thanks to you, many people are now closer to it, and I think more aware of how their decisions can impact it.” Amélie smiled warmly. “A big round of applause for Doctor Sofia Moretti Gómez!”
As the people applauded, Sofia’s heart swelled. Just a little at first. Then a little more.
Maybe shecoulddo it. By herself. Without Neptune. Without Thomas. Without the shadow of someone else’s influence over her work.
For the first time in what felt like years, she wasn’t standing in anyone’s shadow. The applause wasn’t for the institute she’d represented or the man who had opened doors in her name. It was for her. For Sofia. For the woman who had rebuilt everything from the ground up, who had learned to trust her instincts again, who had turned salt water and heartbreak into purpose.
And that realization hit her harder than the sound of waves breaking after a storm, steady, powerful, cleansing. It was almost sacred, like watching a whale breach for the first time: something so immense and beautiful that it made you feel small but infinite all at once.
Maybe she didn’t need validation or a safety net. Maybe this, her voice, her work, her passion, were enough.
And for the first time, she believed it.
17
SOFIA
La Perla – ROSALÍA, Yahritza Y Su Esencia
Chattingwith Lidia and Amélie was fun. She had studied French at school, Genova being close to the French border, and luckily, she could still defend herself pretty well. Not as well as in Spanish, Italian, or English, maybe closer to her Portuguese level. But between English and French, they’d found a common ground. They were both ocean lovers, marine biologists in training since they were still at university, doing an internship at theCité de l’Océan. They had proposed her presence to the director, who had apparently been following her for a while, which still shocked her.
She was about to wave them goodbye and go find Ilias when a familiar voice called from behind her and—for fuck’s sake—her entire body reacted like she was about to throw up.
Turning around, Thomas was there. Handsome, just as she remembered, with his usual American swagger that screamed money and power and entitlement. Yet, when she stoppedlooking at him with the rose-colored glasses of love, even though only six months had passed, she saw him differently. The receding hairline in his blond hair. The way the button on his crisp white shirt clung for dear life around his belly. The sly, performative smile.
Was I really in love with this dude?
“Doctor Whitmore,” Sofia greeted, sternly. Back straight. Expression neutral.
What the fuck was he doing here?
“Sofia, what a pleasure to see you,” Thomas said, that smarmy smile still in place. “Didn’t think that after leaving Neptune you’d try the research route again. I thought playing influencer was what made you happy.”
Calm. Sofia. Breathe.
He definitely came knowing she’d be there. He had probably rehearsed that line in front of the mirror.
Che testa di minchia.
“Being away from you is what makes me happy,” she found herself saying.
“Still upset that I broke up with you?” he grinned, then turned to Lidia and Amélie. “You know, ladies, before she was with that loser of a surfer, she and I were together for eight years.”
Sofia wanted to hide. Dig a grave and crawl in. Why the fuck was he being so unprofessional? Then she remembered: he had literally tricked her into handing over years of research just because of a contract clause she hadn’t thought to show Gabriella. But back then, her sister wasn’t even thinking of studying law, and their relationship had been... complicated.
