uttons uneven. His hand had been resting around Sofia's

fia. She had wrapped he

body. Red marks showed faintly along the collar. Her damp hair fell over

d close together twisted s

eeze. Silence stretc

ayed fixed

ere was no happiness in his voice. His eyes studied

, my eyes shifted past

hidden. "Well, look at you. Prison life must've agreed with

ghtness in my throat. Then I stepped inside th

ugh when I finally s

at each other. The understanding that passe

eld the same

ly. "Something happened. About two months ago she caught a cold, and it turned into acute pne

es

e was part of a li

t to prison, Michael ha

arely even caught a cold. Because she was allergic to penicillin, I kept the right medicine at home and reminded Michael ag

d, why was I never informed? Even if I was still in pris

ppened?" While speaking, I bent down beside the sofa an

my palm. Its broken corner faced them clearly. "

ned from both

room. Lily only used it in the bedroom when we worked on word puzzles together. Michael, tell

llowed and turned his

r face, but the expression felt forced. "Anna, you just came out of prison. Your emotions are all over the pla

s could reach me,

de my stomach turn. Her hand carried a

y mind. That rainy night from three

looked pale and his whole body trembled. "Anna, I drove while drunk and hit someone. They're dea

eeing him like that made my chest ache. I even

self in. Instead, he coll

g and that you failed to save the injured person. That would only count as negligence, and the sentenc

sted

r his sake, I had even gone against my parent

survive anything. I also believed he would keep the pr

p me. His advice meant nothing to me. Inside

"Why didn't you stop and report the accident

the gallery. His eyes were swollen and red from crying. Thro

. That voice stayed with me through three years behin

was the i

ned home carrying an insurance policy. He placed t

o you," he told me, "this w

lives. He reached out, held my face gently, and kissed me. "This is just a safety measure,

ain, I tru

that document was never meant

Michael and Lily. Now Lily was gone. That

s pretty obvious. It was the in