I looked at her. There was something in her eyes something heavy, suffocating. It pressed against my chest, stealing the words from my throat.
For a moment, I hesitated. But fear spoke before I could.
"…Yes." Silence.
Then..
The sound of her hand striking my cheek... Sharp. Sudden…
My fingers rose instinctively to my skin, still burning.
"What is wrong with you?" I whispered, stunned, yet unable to step back.
But she didn't answer.
Instead she grabbed me by the collar, pulling me closer, her grip trembling with something deeper than anger.
"Who told you to go near them?" she hissed."Those people… those witches"
Her voice broke into something almost desperate. I frowned, lost, searching for meaning in words that made none.
Yet one truth remained clear
She despised the Carters. Behind her, shadows moved.
Elena and Sofia at the top of the stairs watching me.
Their eyes held something fragile, regret, perhaps. Or guilt.
Before I could understand I was pushed.
The ground met me without warning.
Footsteps echoed.
My father.
"What is happening here?" he asked, his voice calm, almost distant.
And just like that everything changed.
Giulia's face softened.
A smile bloomed where anger had just lived.
She reached for me helping me up as if nothing had happened.
"She slipped" she said lightly.
But her eyes met mine. Cold.
Unforgiving.
A silent order and I said nothing. My father walked away.
Her hand rested briefly on my shoulder.
Gentle... Too gentle.
"I'm doing this for you" she murmured."You were wise not to mention them in front of your father."
My thoughts tangled.
Nothing made sense.
"Then explain it to me" I said, my voice quieter now."Please."
The house had grown silent.
The children were gone.The air felt heavier.
Giulia turned, her steps slow, controlled.
"Come."
I followed. Up the stairs.Down a corridor I had never seen.
It was darker there.
Not just in light… but in feeling.
As if the walls themselves carried something unspoken.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"You'll understand."
A key slipped from her pocket. A door opened. Inside...A room.
Larger than mine, softer, warmer. Filled with traces of a life that once belonged there. A bed like something from a dream. Curtains touched by sunlight. Silence wrapped in memories.
"This is my room..." she said.
But something in her tone felt… distant.
"It's beautiful" I whispered.
She didn't answer.
Instead, she walked to the window.
Her gaze fixed on something beyond.
"Close the door."
I did.
Then joined her.
Across the distance
The Carter mansion.
So close… yet separated by more than just a river.
"I didn't know we could see them from here" I said softly. She ignored me.
"Your father has a history with them" she began."But he doesn't know they're here."
The wind slipped through the open window.
"I want to believe it's a coincidence." A pause.
"But I don't."
She turned her head slightly.
"They don't know who we are."
My breath caught.
"That's why you must be careful"
she continued."Our name… must not be spoken lightly."
Then she looked at me.
And for the first time. There was something close to regret in her eyes.
"I shouldn't have hit you."
Silence settled between us.
I nodded faintly.
Trying to understand.
Trying to accept.
And then I remembered.
"I already told someone…" I said slowly.
Her gaze snapped toward me.
"Who?"
"…Kael."
The name lingered between us.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Her lips parted slightly.
"…Kael Carter?"
I nodded.
She exhaled slowly, as if holding something back.
"Then listen to me carefully" she said."You will see him again."
Her voice lowered.
"And when you do… you will either make him keep your name a secret"
A pause.
"or you will take it back."
I stared at her.
"…Is it really that serious?"
Her eyes darkened.
"You don't understand yet."
A silence.
"Between our families… there are things that should have stayed buried."
She stepped away from the window.
Closed it.
The light faded from the room.
As if something had just been sealed again.
We moved toward the door.
And just before locking it
She spoke.
Quietly.
"This was never my room."
I froze.
"It belonged to your mother."
The corridor felt colder now.
"My mother… lived here?"
I followed her, my voice barely steady.
"Liora,"
she said, without turning back."I've already said too much."
Her steps echoed.
"The past doesn't need to return."
Then, softer
"Just do what I asked you."
I didn't argue. Not this time.
I simply nodded.
"…Alright."
Later, sitting alone in the living room, waiting for dinner
I took my phone and for the first time I wrote to him.
Hello Kael… would you like to go out tomorrow? I'd like to discover another city.
I stared at the message.
For a long moment.
Then pressed send.