RLO

umbling before my eyes, and I couldn't do anything about i

life enjoyed playing cruel tricks on me. First, it was my dad and mom dying, leaving me to fend for myself in a wo

as tears streamed down my cheeks. "It's all

ened my eyes and the house became silent. I was still in the library; nothing had changed. The silence made it worse; it was easier to deal with t

he items in the house. Fresh tears rolled down my face as I watched Rogerio get into his car and

ibrary and chuckled with realization. The shelves were empty too; he had taken ev

referred to this room as his fortress and the books as his companions. If he had left the books or taken some

the hallway to meet Maria, standing at the end of

for the Thuthais, not me, and you don't have to be here. Especially n

ible as the last. I wasn't ready to go down that path; I didn't know the first thing about being alone, and I had no idea how I woul

ook her head slowly. "E

" I inquired as a puzzled expression

thers... Well, they chose a different path,"

I couldn't tell what it was at the moment, but I knew my bedroom was the best alternative at the time. I ente

the drivers are all gone, yet you're still

doesn't seem right. None of this seems right,

n it's just two of us livi

gnora; I'm a cr

ted her and buried my

ha

hat Signora nonsense. It means nothin

Thuthai. Up until you sign the divorce p

d and I moved the cloth away from my f

t you can try. Now you have a chance to take the car

life's lemons into lemonade, Maria," I replied,

ind the strength to make up your

d smiled wistfully. "Well, I don't

es. It can also stem from the fact that you

st thing on my

good decisions on an empty stomach," she retorted and glanced at th

estured towards the tray. "I don't thin

you now. I have to examine the grounds t

her way to the door. "Maria?!" I c

Her eyes held the emotion she desperately

uttered, and she nodded in

as I got off the bed and moved towards the table.

s point, I only sought one thing: closure, and I was g

eartbreak. I needed to find out the reason for his actions. This was something

ed up a fork and dug into the meal in front of me as I considered my options. There were a few ways to fi

ther stupid to put it on his tab. If someone was divorcing y

er option; it was risky given that he had warned me about coming to wherever he had move

of pasta into my mouth. I could barely taste the meal, but I couldn't care less. I