Chapter 20
90%
Five Years Later
The cemetery was quieter than before, as if the ghosts of the past had finally found their rest. The wind was gentle, rustling the leaves above, carrying the scent of lilies and damp earth.
I stood before Amara’s grave, no longer consumed by the fire of revenge but by the quiet weight of acceptance.
Kneeling, I placed a bouquet of white lilies against the gravestone. My fingers traced the carved letters of her name, feeling the smooth indentations as if they were a part of my own skin.
“Justice is served, my love,” I whispered.
There was no more blood to be spilled, no more shadows of the past chasing me down. Lorenzo was dead. Isabella was dead. The enemies who once sought to destroy me had met their fates.
I was free.
But not everyone had escaped unscathed.
Dante, Isabella’s son, had been left behind.
A child abandoned by his mother’s sins.
He had been placed in an orphanage, left to grow up without the love of the woman who had destroyed so many lives. And though I hated Isabella for all she had done, I couldn’t bring myself to hate the boy.
He was innocent in all of this.
I thought about him sometimes, wondering if he would ever learn the truth of what his mother had done. If he would resent her, or if he would grow up never knowing the weight of her betrayals.
I pitied him.
Because in the end, we were all victims of the past.
Closing my eyes, I inhaled deeply. The storm that had raged inside me for years had finally quieted. Only an aching love for the little girl who had been taken too soon remained.
A presence lingered behind me, steady and unwavering. I turned, finding Darius waiting at a respectful distance. His hands were tucked into the pockets of his tailored coat, dark eyes watching me with quiet understanding.
He let Our Daughter Die for His Ex’s Child!
1/5
06.0
Darius had always been patient with my grief, never demanding that I let go before I was ready. He had been there when I shattered, when the weight of my rage had nearly crushed me. And when there was nothing left but exhaustion and pain, he had been the one to help me rebuild,
Now, five years later, we stood side by side, not as two people clinging to vengeance, but as partners who had found their way through the darkness.
I walked toward him, and without a word, he reached for my hand, lacing our fingers together. His warmth grounded me, a reminder of the life I had chosen to embrace.
“Are you ready?” he asked softly.
I glanced back at the grave one last time. Amara would always be a part of me, but the ghosts of my past no longer chained me down.
I nodded. “Yes.”
We walked away from the graveyard together, leaving behind the memories of bloodshed and betrayal. The past had been buried along with Lorenzo’s sins, Isabella’s lies, and Amara’s injustice.
For the first time in years, I chose to live–not for revenge, but for the future.
Later That Night
The estate was quiet, bathed in the soft glow of evening. I sat on the balcony, watching the stars flicker against the dark sky. The world felt different now–lighter, as if the weight I had carried for so long had finally lifted.
Darius stepped onto the balcony, two glasses of wine in hand. He handed me one before settling beside me.
“You were quiet today,” he noted.
I took a sip, letting the rich flavor settle on my tongue before answering. “I was thinking.”
“About?”
I glanced at him, the man who had stood beside me through the worst of it. “About how different things could have been.”
Darius leaned back in his chair, studying me. “Regrets?”
I shook my head. “No. Just… perspective.”
There had been a time when I thought revenge was the only thing keeping me going. When every breath I took had been laced with hatred, and every step
Chanter 20
2:5
12:35 Sun, 2 Mar
I walked had been toward destruction.
90%
But it had been Darius who had shown me that life didn’t have to end with vengeance. That there could be something beyond bloodshed and sorrow.
He reached for my hand, rubbing slow circles against my palm. “You made it through, Valeria. You survived.”
I exhaled. “I did.”
And for the first time, I believed it.
*****
A New Beginning
Morning light poured through the windows, casting a golden hue over the bedroom. I stirred, feeling the
th
of Darius beside me. His arm was
draped over my waist, his breathing slow and steady.
I turned, tracing the sharp angles of his face, the faint scar along his jaw–a reminder of battles fought, of wounds earned in my name.
I
Darius had been my salvation when I was drowning in hate.
Now, he was my future.
A soft knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts.
“Come in,” I called.
The door opened, revealing a young girl with wide, curious eyes. She hesitated at the threshold, gripping the stuffed bear in her arms.
I sat up, a smile tugging at my lips. “Good morning, Lucia.”
The little girl beamed, shuffling forward. “Good morning, Mama.”
The words still made my chest tighten.
Lucia wasn’t my blood, but that had never mattered. I had found her in the ruins of a war I had long since left behind–a girl who had lost her family, just as I had lost Amara.
At first, I was hesitant, afraid that loving another child would only bring more pain. But Lucia had found her way into my heart, piece by piece, filling the cracks that Amara’s death had left behind.
She climbed onto the bed, settling between us. Darius groaned, burying his face into the pillow. “Too early,” he muttered.
I chuckled, pressing a kiss to Lucia’s forehead. “What do you need, sweetheart?”
Chapter 20.
12:35 Sun, 2 Mar
Lucia giggled, shugging against my side. Ukay, Papa.
I stilled.
Lucia had never called Darius that before.
90%
I felt him shift beside me, his arm tightening around us both. When I looked at him, there was something unspoken in his gaze–something warm, something steady.
Family.
For so long, I had believed that revenge was all I had left. That love was nothing more than a fleeting illusion, meant to be shattered.
But here, in this quiet morning, with Lucia curled against me and Darius beside me, I realized something.
I had been wrong.
I had found love again.
And this time, I would not let it go.
Years later, I returned to Amara’s grave with Lucia at my side.
I told her about the sister she never got to meet, about the love that had never faded.
I placed fresh lilies on the grave, whispering a promise.
Not of revenge.
Not of sorrow.
But of a life well lived.
And finally, I walked away without looking back.
Still, as I left, I couldn’t help but think of another child, one who had been left behind in ways he would never understand.
Dante.
Would he ever know the truth? Would he grow up in the orphanage feeling the same loneliness I once did?
I hoped, somehow, he would find his own way.
Because no child deserved to suffer for the sins of their parents.
