nora

oulder blades launches me int

s now - the phantom scent of Papà's pipe, the echo o

. I hit the parquet floor - the same floor I spend Saturdays polishing to a high gloss

an draw breath, his boot connects with my ribs.

r floods my mouth. Not

s grounded for fourteen days. The questions from the community about

over me. "Thirty days to find a mountain of cash

evacuates my lungs in one agonizing rush. My vision tunnels to pin

my cheeks. I fold inward, knees to

ing down until my spine protests. "Keep testing me," he whispers, br

liberate footsteps retre

a j

the groan. Leaving my purse, I use the wall as

ones give out. I slide down the do

teady leak of despair.

ore y

prison sentence. What sum of m

ome forgotten town, ta

Not a cent. Wou

hest, crushing. I curl ti

st a smile in a faded photo,

or one fleeting season, I believed in fairy tales - a kind stepmot

r. "The living room i

orce steadiness in

n the hall, his door - our

it disrespectful, his backhand taught me the new order. "I'm

the stepbrother I thought existed. Now I know: the mo

ry-swallow two pills to blu

ork: a crystal decanter lies in glittering shards on the heart

scapes me. I f

urs. Then burn this pla

the sticky residue until my fingers

nife, makes sense. Needing the ritual, I begin the focaccia for tomorrow's parish cl

ty, the knot between my shoulders eases. The pi

n with gentle hands, bread baking for simple joy. A life where the

and damp stone. Sunlight strains through the high stained-glass windows

" Martina's voice echoes as she directs the b

ding. The word feels alien, belonging to a universe of normalcy far

anel of a window. Outside is a blur of overgrown churchyard and mossy angels. Up here, the busy silence bel

rino a tightening noose around his neck-and my throat. He vents that pressure on me. Yesterday, he slid a paper across t

ficate still stuns me. I know the truth. The moment ink meets that line, my life bec

begins to feel less like a countdown and more like a fantasy. Yet

rs. To harbor me would place her in an impossible position, bound as

he act of helping me would mark her for retribution. Nothin

otion, the clear streak left on ancient glass. For a few precious

ow, a low vibration that cuts the

eon

i

s spasm on the narrow step. The damp cloth flies from my grip. The world upends - th

Hard arms lock around me, one across my back, the other under my kne

me is stark - expensive wool, cold leather, something metallic and clean, l

liquid, floods my

st my will, m

nyielding jaw, startlingly thick lashes framing eyes not merely dark, but a fathomless, pitiless grey - a winter sea at dusk. They hol

re is only the solid reality of his hold, the dizzy

fear - to be so exposed, so clumsy, before him. To be

ders require attention

beat too long. He shakes

't a r

ongue darts t

alling into step behind him. My lungs tighten.

nto my back as I trail them out. N

neglected roses. They lead me past overgrown gardens to

weathered epitaph. Silence stretches, pulled taut by my hammering hea

l me on holy ground. Don'

ting footsteps make the privacy feel more dangerous. A breeze

The quiver in my

the other rises to rub his jaw, h

absurd and unsettling. "T

dator's fluid grace closing the distance. M

orrection is instant

. I rush to apologiz

ess

casually, stuns me. N

plifying his imposing frame. "Mat

hest, limbs. Embarrassment is a

vir

her

er d

My chee

linch - a violent, ingrained recoi

ace before he winds a loose curl aroun

e in my limbs grows. Unable to lie on consecrat

url. "I don't enj

, a statement that offers no real