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"I saw her take your hand the other day. In that moment it caught my attention, but I didn't think much of it."

"We don't actually have anything yet—this will be our first official date," Claudia admits, suddenly nervous. "But it might not be the last. At least, that's what I'm hoping," she adds, leaving out what happened between them.

"Well, I'm really happy for you, Claudia," her aunt replies. "I hope it works out. Laia is a lovely woman who deserves someone as extraordinary as she is, and I can't think of anyone better than you."

"Thank you." Claudia's eyes well up, because she isn't used to someone loving her without expecting anything in return, and her aunt seems to see her for exactly who she is, with no expectation that she be anything she doesn't want to be. "I don't think my parents would say the same if they found out I have something with her."

Elvira's expression darkens.

"To them, Laia is someone who isn't on my level—when the only thing I feel is that I'm the one who isn't on her level."

Her aunt takes her hand.

"Listen to me carefully: you deserve Laia just as much as she deserves you. You're not less than anyone, Claudia—not more either, just a woman whose life has been steered for her without any thought for what she wanted. But you can choose now. The time has come to stop thinking about what they want and focus only on what you want. Stand your ground, set your limits, and throw yourself headfirst at everything you want—starting with Laia."

"I will," Claudia says with a tired smile.

"Come here." Elvira opens her arms and pulls her close for a few seconds, holding her.

"Can I ask you something personal?" Claudia says, settling back into her chair. "I don't know anything about you or your life—are you seeing anyone?"

"No." Elvira smiles. "I'm very single and I think I always will be. I'm one of those people who's comfortable with their own company—I like solitude, and I'm happy that way."

"But haven't you been with anyone? Haven't you had a serious relationship?" Claudia asks, thrown off.

"Yes, of course I have. I had a long relationship a while back—we were together for eight years."

"Together?" Claudia's eyebrows shoot up. "I didn't know you were also…"

"I didn't know about you either, if that helps," her aunt says. "Her name was Ana, and she worked as a sales rep at one of the companies we buy fabric from."

"Did my mother know?" she asks, confused.

"I doubt it—I never told her anything. After that argument of ours, our phone conversations were limited to company matters, and when she still used to come here with you, I was in the middle of figuring things out—my head was full of doubts, but I knew sharing them with her wasn't the best idea. How did she handle it when she found out about you?"

"Umm." Claudia sighs. "It was better than I expected. As for my dad, I didn't care much, because even though he tries to call the shots, he only does and thinks what my mother tells him."

"So she took it well?" Elvira says, surprised.

"No—not at first. When I told her, she started saying ridiculous things, that it couldn't be, that I needed to meet a nice man, that sort of stuff. But once she realized I was serious, she just turned it into something we don't talk about at home. And I prefer it that way—I don't think I can handle another thing to fight with them about."

"Honestly, I don't know who my sister takes after. Our mother wasn't like that, and our father was strict, but he didn't have her rigidity."

"She's obsessed with perfection and keeping the family name's reputation intact. What happened with Ana?" she asks, steering back to a conversation that interests her more.

"The company she worked for was Italian, and they promoted her—but she had to move to Italy for it. I had the factory here and couldn't move, and neither of us believed in long-distance relationships, so we decided to end things before everything went cold and fell apart badly."

"Damn, how did you handle that?"

"It was really hard at first. We'd agreed not to lose touch—to call each other every couple of weeks or so to check in—but every time we talked we ended up crying. So we decided to give ourselves some time to get through it, and that time kept stretching until we just drifted apart completely."

"And you never hear from her?"

"No. Sometimes I think about sending her a message and asking how she's doing, but I think it's better this way."

"Wow. Don't you miss being with someone?"

"I missed her. But I've already known what love is, and I have no desire to complicate things again. What about you? Was there anyone interesting before Laia?"